Fallen Neo
by TheYellowKirby
Summary: She's falling and falling with no one to catch her. She is an angel plummeting to the ground, haunted by demons from the past. Can someone from her past help her fly again? WARNING: Graphic content! SS and a little ET. CHAPTER 34 IS UP AS OF 14 OCT, 2008!
1. Neo: Taken

Neo Fallen

Written by: Ciuline Ihmenjo

Cardcaptor Sakura does not belong to me. The characters in Cardcaptor Sakura do not belong to me. CLAMP owns CCS. Besides, even if you do try and sue me, I have no money.

_Pre-fiction..._

This was written so long ago, I don't think I even remember how the idea first came into my head. I thought, though, that it was long past time for a proper opening for my most epic work.

**Disclaimer: **This story is not a happy story. It is a story about possibly real (sans the magical powers) situations using not-so-real people. I am not going to dumb down material nor will everything suddenly resolve. I fully intend to portray the characters in the best of my ability. I hope that you, as the reader, will not only understand that, but also remember this as you read through my words. I hope you are not expecting happy bunnies and miraculous rescues by knights in shining armor... life just doesn't work that way.

Please, I am not attempting to deter you from reading this story. I am attempting to prepare you for something that might just be different from everything else.

_Italicized words_ are thoughts. **Bold words** are emphasis. CAPS WORDS are shouting

**o()o Neo Fallen: Taken o()o**

It was the same dream she had been having for the last month.

It was the same screaming. The same pleading sound of her own voice echoed off the walls. Her breath was coming in ragged gasps. And a length of rope was wound securely around her wrists. Through her eyes, she could see that she had her school uniform on in the broken glass of a mirror. At least, at some point it could have been a school uniform. All that existed of it now were a few scraps of cloth knotted together as it clung to her form. And in those shards, she could see the form of a featureless man holding her struggling body down. The uniform was shredded to scraps of cloths. And she was screaming. It was the only sound in the room other than the roaring sound of her own breath in her ears as it fought its was into her burning lungs. The scene wavered for a moment. She was looking down at the bed now, and she saw droplets of clear liquid falling down onto it. The sheets were colored rust to bright red from blood. For some strange reason, she knew it was her own blood and her own tears were falling to meet the once white sheets. And then, the sound of the cry of release from the man above her joined her screams of torment, of pain and displeasure. The room turned white for a brief moment...

And Sakura woke in the real world. A sheen of sweat coated her entire body, causing her pajamas to stick to her. Her bangs were plastered to her forehead. After a quick moment of thought on the issue, she was seriously contemplating a change of pajamas. She lifted her arm and watched it drop back to the bed. Another moment passed and she figured that a shower would be expending too much effort after just waking up. A quick glance in the direct of her desk caused her to realize what had woken her up, and the reason she was forcing herself to wake up so early. She rolled over and gave the object of annoyance a bleary stare. It only declared its presence with a loud buzzing as a response and her bleary look hardened into a glare.

"How dare you wake me up," she said in half seriousness, jabbing an accusing finger in the direction of her alarm clock.

Getting up out of the bed, she trudged across the room and yanked the cord out of the wall. Taking a quick glance at her sleeping guardian, she peeled her pajamas off, and decided that she most definitely needed a shower. She was supposed to meet Tomoyo in about an hour and didn't want to upset her friend by being late.

O o o o o O_  
_

"Sakura-chan," Tomoyo called out, "over here!" She had dismissed her bodyguards, insisting on the privacy. The raven-haired girl waved cheerfully at her and rushed towards her.

"Hey Tomoyo," Sakura replied. "So, where did you want to eat again?"

"Well, since you agreed that it was your treat..." Tomoyo's finger scanned the row of various stores and restaurants before them. "How about that one?" She pointed out a rather modest café that had opened up a little more than two months ago. "And we can check out that simply adorable fashion store next door."

Sakura sighed, letting the other girl drag her off to the café and whatever else she had planned.

It was only thirty minutes later and Sakura was just finishing the last few bites of cake remaining on her plate. Tomoyo sat back in her chair, a still steaming cup of cuppichino still in front of her.

"How's Syaoran-kun doing anyhow?" she asked suddenly. She dug around in her bag for moment and produced her camera. The little red light above the lens began to glow red.

Sakura flushed crimson. "H-He's... w-well S-Syaoran is... I... uh... I mean," she continued to stammer. "H-he hasn't written s-since Christmas," she blurted.

"That long?" Tomoyo's head tilted slightly to one side. "I can't believe the nerve of him sometimes. It's almost like he's playing a game with you or something."

"He said he'd come down for summer break," Sakura said in defense of her boyfriend. "I mean, he has things to do for school and, you know, things like that."

"That's just what he's telling you," Tomoyo said with a wink.

It was a motion that Sakura didn't quite catch. "HE IS NOT!" she cried out.

Tomoyo only smiled. "Either way, we'll have to send him another picture or something. I'm sure he's worn out all of the other ones."

"Hoe?" Sakura uttered her trademark noise. "Worn out?"

"I'm just saying, that you did only send him about two or three pictures from the end of junior high. That was almost two years ago. And since then you haven't sent him anything other than letters."

"But I..."

"You should send him something else," the other girl said with a slight nod. "He'd like that."

Sakura stammered something intelligible and flushed again.

"And I can make the perfect costume for it!" Tomoyo cried out triumphantly. Sakura slumped in her chair at the comment. Several heads turned in their direction and Sakura's blush darkened noticeably. "So, let's get over to that store now, shall we?"

It was all Sakura could do to place the money on the table and solemnly follow her friend to the shop next door.

O o o o o O_  
_

They exited the store after another few hours. Tomoyo walked along humming a turn to herself with rather pleased look on her face while Sakura looked equally exhausted and struggled to keep up with her friend. The dark-haired girl was carrying a single paper bag that looked about ready to burst at the seams.

"Do you really need that much... that much stuff?" Sakura asked with a sigh. Now that she knew there was no way out of it, she was hoping to find any way to expedite the process of Tomoyo's outfit making.

"Well, not really, but it helps to have a lot of choices. I mean, I did get two or three patterns of this fabric and there has to be matching ribbons. The thread needs to match up with the fabric so I have about five or six different styles of that." As she said each item, she pulled them out for Sakura to see. The other girl just continued to straggle along behind her friend, only half-listening to her. She felt something bump into her and she found herself being carried away by the crowd of people that were just beginning to flood the street.

"Tomoyo?" she called out. "Where are you?" It was when she didn't hear her friend's voice that she began to get very concerned.

"Tomoyo!" she cried out frantically. "Tomoyo!" She rounded a corner and saw the bag of fabric strewn across the pathway. People tried generally to avoid it, but the materials continued to be trampled underfoot. _Something's very wrong..._

A loudspeaker in the background began to blare out a slightly familiar but very long promotional ad for one of the newer shops on the street. She heard a noise from the alleyway behind the café and looked up just in time to see a head of dark hair being dragged into it. Lost in the sea of people, no one seemed to notice. Sakura immediately sprinted after her friend, praying that Tomoyo wasn't in trouble.

"Tomoyo! Tomoyo!" she called out. She ducked behind a large shrub and reached for her necklace, calling the familiar wand to her hand. She skidded around the corner and into the alleyway. And she nearly dropped the wand.

"H-hey Sakura," Tomoyo said nervously from where she was being held.

"Quiet!" was the growled reply. The man had a strong arm wrapped around her neck and was casually moving a gun toward her head. He smiled when Sakura entered the alleyway.

"Make one move and you'll be cleaning your pretty little friend's brains off the concrete." He nodded in her direction of the gun was pressed against her best friend's temple. "Why don't you just turn around like a good girl, pretend that none of this happened, and maybe your friend won't get hurt." He pressed the gun harder into Tomoyo's head to emphasize his point. She closed her eyes and her knees gave way beneath her. He continued to speak: "Just turn around because you aren't going to do much with your little pink stick there."

Sakura cursed herself inwardly. _I can't use any of the cards because Tomoyo may get caught in the crossfire. I just can't take the risk. And even if I were to do anything now, he'd kill her! I wouldn't have enough time to summon any of them before he pulls the trigger, not even Time would be able to do anything!_"Coward!" she yelled. "Using a defenseless girl as your shield."

"We do what we need to get by," he said with a slight wave of the hand wrapped around Tomoyo's neck. "After all, don't we all have our little parts to play in this world?" He paused for a moment and squeezed a little harder. Tomoyo winced and shut her eyes. "It doesn't take too much to kill a person doing this and I'm sure your friend could tell you that." Her breath was beginning to come in ragged gasps and she clawed helplessly at the hand against her neck.

"Stop it! You're hurting her!" Sakura yelled. She wondered why no one had stopped to look and realized that they were halfway in the alley and the music playing in the background was all but drowning out any of the noise in the alley. "If you're going to kidnap someone..."

He rolled his eyes. "A simple kidnapping? This isn't quite that but I guess you could call it that."

Sakura sighed. _I'm so sorry Tomoyo, but I can't save you any other way._ "Take me instead!" she blurted.

Tomoyo's eyes became two large violet saucers imbedded in her head. "Don't worry about me! JUST RUN!" She wore an extremely pained expression on her face. "Sakura, you can't..." The gun moved away from her head and the heel of the pistol crashed against her skull with a loud crack. Sakura flinched and began to move when the man cocked the trigger back.

"I thought I told you not to talk." He supported Tomoyo's limp body and maneuvered the gun back against her temple. "And I thought that I told you not to move."

Sakura grimaced in frustration but stopped in her tracks. "I thought you said you wouldn't hurt her!"

"Now don't go and put promises in my mouth that I never said." He looked in her direction and nodded. "About your little plan to save your friend... what's in it for me?" After all, I could just take her and not have anything to worry about."

"I'd go quietly," Sakura said meekly. "I wouldn't struggle and you wouldn't have to worry about me making a scene. All you have to do is promise that you won't hurt her."

The man thought about this for a moment and smiled. "So that's it? Why should I accept?"

"Because!" Sakura shouted. Her voice lowered as the man glared at her. "You wouldn't need to worry about me getting away. She knows me very well. And... and you'd still get a large reward!" She lowered her gaze. "Just please, please don't hurt her."

"What guarantees this to me?"

"If I do anything wrong, you can come back and shoot her. Just kill her and that's it. You'll still have me, but you won't have a witness."

The man contemplated this for a moment and nodded. As stupid as Sakura's plan sounded, it look much less suspicious to take a willing girl than one at gunpoint.

Sakura just hoped he wouldn't take Tomoyo along as well.

"Okay, put down that ridiculous pink thing as well as your stuff and come here then. I guess a willing girl is better than one who struggles." He sighed and lowered Tomoyo to the ground, keeping the gun pressed into her head at all times. "She's quite the looker, but I guess you can do in her place."

"You step away from her first!" Sakura yelled. "I need your vow on this as well."

"And you put the stupid thing down!" he called back. Sakura nodded and placed the wand on the ground, keeping her fingers in contact with it at all times. He pursed his lips and stepped back and away from the unconscious girl. He still kept the gun pointed at her head.

"Now lower the gun and I'll come over, just as long as I can write her a note first so she won't be so scared to find me gone!" Sakura knelt down and placed the wand on top of her small backpack. She dug around for a paper and pen and felt a heavy hand on her shoulder after just a few moments. He kicked the staff away from her – in the direction of Tomoyo.

"One quick note and we leave." He grabbed her shoulder tightly and she yelped at his strong grip.

"R-right..." _What am I doing? What am I thinking? But, this is for her sake... please be safe._ She began writing quickly, slipping a single card behind the paper, but was unable to finish before she was jerked away by her arm. The pad and pen fell to the concrete and she found her body being dragged away from her bag.

"But I'm not done!" she protested.

"Too bad," he said, "you're on my terms now."

Sakura tried to grab her notebook to finish her brief note but it was just out of her fingertips. _Be safe Tomoyo and please forgive me..._

O o o o o O

Tomoyo awoke to a splitting pain in her head. All of the day's events were roaring back into her mind. A quick glance at her watch told her she had been out for only one hour. She glanced quickly around Sakura, but her eyes fell onto the pink key chain resting by her leg and the book bag lying forgotten on the pavement. The tears came and she couldn't stop them.

"Sakura?" she cried out, her voice wavering. She tried to stand, but a wave of nausea washed over her body. She felt bile rising in her throat but was able to keep it down.

"Sakura? Where are you Sakura?" Managing at least to crawl in the direction of the bag, she heard a sheet of paper crumple under her hand. She gingerly lifted her arm and saw the hastily scribble note. She rolled into a sitting position and began to read it.

_I'm sorry Tomoyo, but in the end, this was all that I could think of. With all my magic, I can't even save my best friend... but I guess that I have. Keep singing because you have so much talent. This may be good-bye as well, so all you can do is—_

The note ended there with a large line that went off the paper. And then the single card fell to the ground. Tomoyo reached out with one quaking arm and squeezed her eyes shut. She knew what it was, but couldn't bring her self to look at it. She forced her eyes open in the end and looked at the face of The Hope. She clutched it in her hand and pounded the concrete with the other. _Why Sakura? Why did you do this..._

"SAKURA!" she screamed. "YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME ALL ALONE!"

_Post fiction..._

Took me long enough, but... I finally finished part one of the Fallen Updated Version. Until I come up with a better title though, it'll still be "Neo" so I'm open to suggestions! Keep those reviews coming because, after all, it only takes a minute!

That is all... for now!

Ja ne _Ciuline Ihmenjo_


	2. Neo: Paper

Neo Fallen

Written by: Ciuline Ihmenjo

Cardcaptor Sakura does not belong to me. The characters in Cardcaptor Sakura do not belong to me. CLAMP owns CCS. Besides, even if you do try and sue me, I have no money.

- Pre-fiction -

Not much to say other than you should start to expect updates of Neo Fallen about once or twice (at the most) a month! This is a schedule that I can actually hold myself to so you guys should have to bug me that much about updating any more! Thank goodness for schedules, no?

_Italicized words_ are thoughts. **Bold words** are emphasis. CAPS WORDS are shouting

- - Neo Fallen: Paper - -

Tomoyo had never felt so weary in her life. She wasn't really physically tired, but the mental strain from the day seemed to drain every ounce of energy from her body. She trudged over to her bed and contemplated it with a tired look. Her gaze shifted to the corner of her room. Sakura's belongings lay there in a neat stack, just as if her friend was still with her. It was almost as if Sakura had come back to her house. But she knew that this wasn't true.

Tomoyo sank back on the bed and sighed. _She can't really be gone, can she? I mean, she was right next to me… eating with me… drinking with me. It wasn't more than four hours ago._ She unfolded the wrinkled sheet of paper that was clutched in her hand and stared at it for a moment. One finger rose up to trace the sloppy words written there. She felt the tears rolling down her cheeks and wiped them away with the sleeve of one arm. Sitting up, the dark-haired girl shut her eyes and shifted so she sat back against the board at the head of the bed.

She rose the paper to eye level and stared blankly at the object that she held in her hand. It fell, making lazy loops, until settling on the carpeted floor.

"How?" she said quietly in disbelief.

Her eyes wandered to the dead camera, the recording from little less than four hours still etched into the memory of the device. The period of time that once seemed so insignificant in length now stretched out for eternity. And the tears she thought were gone returned.

"How could you do this to me?" she asked.

She rose from the bed and walked over the light pink rectangle on her floor. She picked up the brief letter, clutching that last sheet to her chest and heard the crinkling of paper as her hands clenched unconsciously. The noise made her jump. She shut her eyes, trying to stop or even slow the onslaught of memories attacking her brain. They all climaxed to four hours ago. That time where she failed **her**. She failed the person dearest to her, and for that reason, Sakura was gone.

Tomoyo looked around the room again. Rain was beginning to patter against the roof outside, but the background noise was largely ignored. It was somewhat fitting to her though, a sort of pathetic parallelism to the emotional maelstrom in the middle of her chest. She began to walk on quaking legs back to the phone. She needed desperately to talk to someone other than the police.

She had already called them at the scene and been interviewed by the officer that arrived a few minutes later. She remembered that she was sobbing and the man had told her that they would do everything they could to find Sakura. And that this same type of incident had been happening over the past two months with more than a dozen girls missing from cities around the area.

She became dimly aware of the lavender receiver clutched in her hands. They still wouldn't stop shaking._ But who am I going to call?_ The emotions played through her mind so quickly. Individual feelings began to get caught up in a frenzied swirl of emotions. And that maelstrom of her feelings refused to stop swirling.

"Hello?" She heard the voice, so caught up in her own mind that the sensation of the redial button mashed against the light purple plastic never even registered in her brain.

"Who is this?" Tomoyo sighed, racking her memory from the name of the last person she had called. Her lips were still numb from shock and the words just wouldn't come. The image of Sakura at the mouth of the alleyway replayed vividly in her mind. The darkness gnawing at the corners of her vision overcame her and she found herself jerked violently from her surreal blend past and present and into cruel existence that was reality. There was no Sakura here, no pink blossoms drifting lazily past, only darkness. And now, she almost wished she had stayed in that comatose state when the pistol had slammed against her head. At least then she wouldn't have to live into this "Sakura-less" world. Her heart ached just thinking about it.

"Hello, is anyone even there?" And suddenly the voice – distinctly one that belonged to a male – brought her back into the present and out of the confines of her mind.

"Y-y-yes?" she answered wearily, slightly surprised to hear herself stutter. "I'm sorry, I must have—" She was cut off before she could finish.

"Daidouji-san, it's me, Hiragizawa."

"Oh." _When did I call Eriol? Maybe it was something about Syaoran… But more importantly, why was I even calling him?_

"You don't sound like you're doing too well," he said. Genuine concern from her well being could be detected even over the scratchy interference.

And Tomoyo just broke down. Unable to deal with the stress of losing her best friend, the young girl slumped to the floor and wailed. Her breathing came in ragged gasps and the tears threatened to create a puddle around her. Somehow, she managed to keep the phone pressed against her face with a single trembling hand.

"What happened?" Eriol asked. The question was almost demanding, but still held the concern that he was mostly likely trying to convey.

"She's gone!" Tomoyo managed to hiccup between bouts of sobbing. "I failed her and she was taken away."

"Calm down and just take deep breaths. Just try to tell me what happened."

As much as she wanted to, the floodgates had opened and the dam had burst. She felt the need to cry herself until she ran out of tears.

After a long silence, she began to speak again. "The skies, they opened up to mourn the loss." Tomoyo sniffled and blew her nose on a handkerchief. She opened her eyes, barely aware that she had closed them in the first place and looked out the window. The rain was now pouring down, slapping against her window and roaring against the roof. She realized with great surprise that she had managed to land on the floor. She only registered these things with a brief nod. Her brain still felt numb.

"Who are we talking about?"

"Sakura," Tomoyo heard her voice crack, "she… she's gone."

The phone clattered in the background but the sound of his shout was still audible, though muffled. "Sorry" he muttered, "dropped the phone."

"I noticed."

"What happened? How?"

Tomoyo stopped. "She was trying to save me Eriol! It's my fault! If I were only stronger, then they wouldn't have taken her. Maybe then she'd be here and I'd be where she is!"

"Who exactly is 'they'?" he asked.

"I don't know!" she wailed. "They tried to take me and then I got knocked out. And, well, Sakura, she did something. And now she's gone! All because of me, Sakura is gone!"

She heard Eriol's deep breath. "It's not your fault. You can't blame yourself for something completely out of your control."

"But she did it to save me!"

"And you would have done the same thing if you were in her situation."

Tomoyo didn't even have to think about his statement to realize that it was true. "Yeah, but—"

"My point exactly." She heard some excited yelling in the background – probably Nakuru – and then Eriol's voice explaining something. The yelling died down into silence – or at least it was what she could perceive through the phone.

"I'm sorry about that Tomoyo. If there is anything that I can do at all, name it and I'll do it."

"Can you find her?"

Eriol made an odd noise that sounded peculiarly like someone choking and then cleared his throat. "I honestly don't know."

"You're the reincarnation of a famous mage. You're the one with all the power! HOW CAN YOU NOT KNOW?" she screamed into the receiver.

"Tomoyo," he said, "I'm not some omnipotent being." He stopped and she started to open her mouth to say something in response, but he began to speak again. "I'm sorry," he said softly, "but I can't do everything."

"Damn it Eriol, then do something! Do **anything**!" Tomoyo hugged her knees to her chest and the phone fell to the bed. _What am I doing? Why am I even reacting like this?_ She picked up the phone and was surprised to hear his voice instead of the droning of a dial tone.

"Well, I can fly out to Japan for a while and take a short leave from school." She could hear him fumbling around in the background for something. "I mean, it doesn't really matter, I'm ahead anyway," he added as an afterthought.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"I know."

"Can you please try to do anything?"

"I'll do what I can. I have some sources out here that I can check. Well, most of them are Kaho's to begin with, but I can still see if she can check them."

"Eriol?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

Unbeknownst to her, the reincarnation of Clow Reed had a tinge of pink creeping into his cheeks. "N-n-no problem," he stammered. He started to put the phone back on the receiver, but caught a whisper of her voice.

"—we'll find her?"

"I don't know," he said softly, "I really don't know."

- Post Fiction -

Phew, finished with Chapter 2. Anyhow, I'm not a jerk, so I'm not going to put some sort of odd 'review requirement' onto any of my stories (as tempting as it may be sometimes). But, after all, it only takes a minute, so please take some time out of your busy schedule to say: "Thanks for the story" or "That really sucked" because it will make me a happier author to know that people actually take the time to review. And happy authors are productive authors.

_ Ja matta ne!_


	3. Neo: Anguish

**Neo Fallen**

Written by: Ciuline Ihmenjo

Cardcaptor Sakura does not belong to me. The characters in Cardcaptor Sakura do not belong to me. CLAMP owns CCS. Besides, even if you do try and sue me, I have no money.

**- Pre-fiction -**

Okay, yeah yeah, I said once a month, but those things change. I'll try and update bi-monthly, but don't expect much. We all have periods of brain-cramps and writer's block. And even then, I'm still going to continue this serious until the end. Which will run into Fallen: TT as that story is absorbed into Neo Fallen. Heh, that's just something cruel that I, as an author, can do to my readers. But ignore that, just please enjoy this rewrite.

_Italicized words_ are thoughts. **Bold words** are emphasis. CAPS WORDS are shouting

**- - Neo Fallen: Anguish - -**

Of all the feelings going through her mind at the moment, embarassment and anger were the most prominent. The sailor fuku she was wearing resembled something that was touching the tip of her memory but just managing to elude her ability to recall it. It wasn't entirely too thin, but her lack of undergarmets (thrown away when she was dressed in this damned outfit) made the scratch cotton material uncomfortable. She was completely exposed to this man's whim. Her hand streatched over her head, and she was nearly hanging by her arms.

"It's only a precaution," he said in a calm voice. "We can't have you leaving just yet."

"Go to hell," Sakura spat.

"That's not exactly the words I'd expect from someone in your situation." The words emerged in the same level tone. He was pacing in front of her, his head and eyes always facing her. Her hands were tied with a strip of her old shirt and then suspended over her head by means of a steel ring imbedded in the wall. She could still move her feet as she'd already proved to him.

"Go to hell," she repeated. "Rot in hell! I hope you burn for eternity!"

"Shut up!" he hissed. His hand silenced her instantly. The palm mark that already marred her face grew even redder. And then his hand struck her other cheek. "This would be a lot less painful if you would shut up and just stay there like the good little girl you're supposed to be."

"Why?" She could taste blood in her mouth and decided that she didn't feel like getting slapped again. _On the other hand, maybe he'd slap me enough so I pass out._ She groaned as her weight shifted and she felt another pain starting around her stomach. "Why are you even hurting me? I mean, you told me I'm not getting away, so just call her mom and tell her what the ransom is."

His response was to laugh. "You still think that's what this is about?" He smiled and she winced from the sight. "How narrow your mind is." He turned to walk out the door. "You really don't realize what's going on, do you?"

"Why don't you enlighten me?" Her response dripped with sarcasm.

"You'll find out on you own," he chuckled.

"Damn it you bastard!" she shouted.

He spun on his heel and she squeezed her eyes shut in anticipation of the blow. It never landed and she slowly opened one eye. He was standing so close to her that she could feel his breath, hot on her face.

"The name," he said slowly, "is Sentry. You'd better not forget it."

"I'll call you whatever I please," she growled. Her leg lashed out to strike him, but her blow didn't even phase him.

He sighed. "Always the hard way with you." His arm cocked back and she knew what was happening. She squeezed her eyes shut and felt all the air whoosh out of her lungs as his arm buried itself in her stomach. She began coughing and a wave on nausea passed over her.

"Bas—" she drew in a sharp breath and white splotches and stars swam before her eyes. "Bastard."

He rolled his eyes. "The first thing I'll teach you is respect. And you will learn it as unwilling as you are to accept it." He walked over to a wall out of her peripheral vision. He returned with something resembling a riding crop gripped tightly in his right hand.

She still hadn't gotten her wind back and her breath came in hiccuped gasps. "Oh god," Sakura whispered, "you're not seriously going to—"

He walked slowly over to her and she began to scream and kick. Wordless, he turned her around and lifted her shirt up so part of her back was exposed.

"DON'T!" she yelled. "I'LL OBEY! I PROMISE I'LL DO WHATEVER YOU TELL ME TO!" She felt her eyes squeeze shut and a shudder passed through her entire body. "Just… please… don't hit me with… with that." Her pleas were ignored and a sharp crack cmae in response. Her back arched from the blow, pressing her stomach flat against the cool wall. Her tears began to darken the hard wood in front of her.

"Welcome to the Houses," he said over his shoulder when he left the room five minutes later. She was curled into a sobbing, shuddering ball. He had cut her free of the bonds restraining her wrists and chained one of her ankles to the bed pushed against a wall in the corner of the room. "Sentry!" she cried out. "You can't just leave me like this!" He could hear the chains clinking together and she shifted, trying to get comfortable on the wooden floor or maybe even climb onto the mattress. "It hurts," she sobbed, "it hurts…"

- - -

Sakura woke to a pain that felt like someone had lit her back on fire. She had moved at some point during the night so she was beneath the bed. The layer of dust that had greeted her there now coated her hair and her entire left side. She had barely even slept anyway. Her back and cheeks hurt so much it was impossible to find a comfortable position so that neither would be in pain. So she opted for her left side because it was the side that ached less.

She was still trying to figure out what had woken her up when she saw a shadow. A small tray was set down beside the bed with a two bowls on it. She crawled forward, despising the fact that the pain in her back flared each time she moved her arms. A small girl – one that didn't look any older than someone in junior high – stood there. She gasped when she saw Sakura and bowed deeply. Sakura gave her the best smile she could manage, but the little girl only turned and ran for the door. The only sound for the next moment was the slamming door.

Sakura reached out and dragged the tray toward her. The food looked completely unappetizing. Both bowls were metal. One was filled with water and the other contained what looked like gruel. _Probably tastes better than burnt pancakes though,_ she mused. She looked around for utensils and wasn't shocked when she didn't find any. _They probably think I'd try and use one for a weapon or something._ She dipped a finger in the second bowl and brought it to her nose. _It smells okay._ She shrugged and stuck her finger in her mouth. The flavor reminded her slightly of burnt rice. She stuck the bowl to her lips and began to drink the soupy mix.

She finished and heard the door open again. She lowered the bowl of water and looked over the rim. He snatched the bowl from her and set it on the tray. Sentry walked over toward her and lifted her up easily, placing her on the mattress. He bent down and put the bowl of water next to her.

"Good, you ate."

"I'm not going to starve."

"Whatever you want."

He grabbed her wrists and she tried to jerk them away. His grip was surprisingly strong. He threw her onto her back and she screamed at the sudden jolt of pain. Trying desperately to squirm away from him, she began to cry from the sheer agony that sent her body into spasms.

"Let go of me!" she cried out. "It hurts! Let go!"

As she expected, he didn't listen to her. Instead, he shoved her hands though one of the metal rods at the head of them bed and began to tie them together. She tested the bonds, decided they weren't worth the effort to attempt to break, and lay on the bed. She sniffled as another wave of pain washed over her and shut her eyes in an attempt to block out the sensation.

"You'll receive you're first customer soon, I suggest you take the time to let your situation sink in." He tested the knot once and turned in the direction of the dor.

"Hoe? Customer?" she asked. "What in the hell are you talking about?" The only asnwer she received was his back as he walked out the door.

"Answer me!" she yelled. "Sentry, answer me!" He only continued to ignore her.

Giving up, Sakura settled back on the bed and drifted off to sleep.

- - -

It was about two hours later when the sound of two people speaking in the hall woke her up.

"A real surprise." It was **that** man's voice and she shuddered as the mere thought of him.

"How so?" The voice was different and completely new to her.

"She's a new girl, so don't be too rough with her." The first man, Sentry, again.

_What the hell?_ Sakura though. She tried to roll over so she could hear the voices better. A sharp pain in her arms halted the idea and she uttered a sharp yip at the sensation. Sinking back onto the bed, she closed her eyes and pretened to be asleep. _On the bright side, at least my back isn't hurting as much._

"Really now, how is she?" The other man's voice seemed excited.

"I don't think she's even been touched there before. Yes, a virgin, no doubt about it."

Something clicked in her mind and her eyes shot open. _Please God, tell me they're not talking about me!_ She heard the doorknob turn with a faint click and the door swing inward on unoiled hinges.

The man that entered the room was barely out of his twenties and was dressed in a plain suit and tie. He would be slightly attractive in normal circumstances, but she could care less at the moment. She studied his face for a brief second and then noticed he was striping off his clothes.

"No, this has to be some sort of joke. You see—"

The man's lips pressed against her own and she gagged as his tongue probed her mouth. He drew away and smiled at her. She only turned her head to the side and began to spit.

He chuckled. "I'm not that bad. Besides, it shouldn't hurt too much."

Sakura stared at him with widening eyes. "Please, there has got to be some other way, something else I can do. Anything?"

She continued to plead with him even and he climbed on top of her bound form and began to nuzzle her neck. A shudder of revulsion coursed through her entire body, even as a slight wave of pleasure shot over her. She felt his hands moving all over her body, and she began to scream. The sound began to get louder and louder with each passing second, even as the futility of her exertion began to dawn on her. She just began to become more desperate and began to do everything she could to fight the man above her, including screaming louder. It didn't last long and noting seemed to improve the situation. He must have gotten fed up with her, because, in a second, he flipped her skirt, gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, and thrust violently in her.

The instantaneous realization coupled with the loss of her virginity was too much to bear. The noise that emerged from her throat was anything but a scream. In fact, it was past the level of a shriek, and slowly rising in pitch. The sheer intensity threatened to shatter the window and mirror. She just hoped it would shatter this man's eardrums.

_My first time is with a stranger._ The sudden realization dawned on her, even as he continued to move in and out of her. A few droplets of moisture began to gather at the corner of her eyes and she only let the tears flow in a pathetic attempt to convince him to stop or at least do something to alleviate the pain in her groin.

He only brushed them away with a finger and made a shushing noise. He said it would be okay. He said she'd be all right, that everything would be all right. He then assured her that she was doing just fine and that he'd come see her again sometime. He continued to talk to her in an equally pathetic attempt to comfort her. She closed her eyes and did her best to block him out.

Sakura suddenly understood her nightmare and shut her eyes, trying to bring up some sort of happier memory. Her attempts failed miserably. She could still hear herself screaming (and was wondering when she would become hoarse from it), but that noise was on auto-pilot. She wasn't even sure if she was saying anything coherent or even what she was saying at all. But, to her, it really didn't matter.

She felt him exit her body and cried out at the jolt of pain that accompanied his departure. _At least he had the **courtesy**_ _to release himself outside of me._ She could feel the puddle dripping down to pool around her thigh. She shuddered in complete revulsion.

He smiled at her and planted yet another kiss on her cheek. She wasn't even aware he had finished with her. He rolled off her, cleaned himself on her shirt, and began to pull his clothes back on. She could the stain of blood on the white cloth. The red and pink liquid – hot and sticky on her chest, but quickly cooling – disgusted her. She almost retched before she came to the understanding that she would have to deal with that as well and probably on the area around her face. Instead, she settled with a deep sigh and bit her tongue. By focusing on the pain, she found she could somewhat relax the churning feeling in her stomach.

She stared up at the clock on the wall and shivered, suddenly aware of how dark and lonely the room was. She noted that about twenty minutes had passed that she still could not account for. Giving up on her attempts to figure out where it had gone, she buried her face in her shoulder and cried. She decided that she had probably passed out and took comfort in the fact that she at least wasn't conscious when he raped her.

The door opened and the young man walked out. Sentry's head peeked out from around the door. "Hurry up and do what you want to do with yourself, another customer will be here in an hour."

The realization that this was the first of many times this vile act would happen to her rested squarely on her mind. The thought only served to hasten the rate of tears flowing from her eyes and she knew she would most likely cry herself to sleep every miserable day she was here.

She felt a part of her go numb and her thoughts settled on a boy she remembered from China, someone who she had been planning to write a letter so she could see him again. She sighed as she realized that she couldn't feel Kero or Yue's presence and at once realized she was truly alone.

**- Post Fiction -**

I'm not just rewriting what was already in Fallen, I'm adding to it. I'll go more in-depth on some things as well, such as how she looses her magic and what's going on in the outisde world for those months she is in the Houses. Expect slightly shorter chapters until about 4 or 5 because I split some stuff up to make the writing process a little faster. Yes, please don't forget to take that small moment of your time to review my story. I'll appreciate it and you may even convince me to change things in the future or, better yet, write faster. A great writer thrives on the positive feedback of his readers and fixes those mistakes pointed out in the negative feedback.

_ Ja matta ne!_


	4. Neo: Dreams

Neo Fallen

Written by: Ciuline Ihmenjo

Cardcaptor Sakura does not belong to me. The characters in Cardcaptor Sakura do not belong to me. CLAMP owns CCS. Besides, even if you do try and sue me, I have no money.

- Pre-fiction -

I'm going to make this short, save one complaint.** Please, please take the time to review.** Your responses help to shape my stories. It's a pity that I can't generate more of them (mainly because there is no way to make this story PG-13. Insert large sigh from author here).

Yes, and thank you: **coca24cola**; **scorpinac**; **pnaixrose**… for staying with me for all of these chapters and though all of my writings.

And: **icekween23**, for going back and reading all of these pointless ditties that I have published.

_Italicized words_ are thoughts. **Bold words** are emphasis. CAPS WORDS are shouting

- - Neo Fallen: Dreams - -

Sakura looked around her and an immediate realization dawned on her. She had to be dreaming. All logic pointed to that fact and she welcomed it with open arms only because it felt so good to be away from the hellish ordeal of reality.

The main reason was that the pain that she had felt over the last two months was completely non-existent. She was even dressed in the same clothes she was wearing when she was in the waking world. But, cruel reality dictated that she had to wake up at some point, so she would make the most of her time here.

A single blink and her clothes fluttered away from her body in a swarm of cherry blossoms that orbited her body before settling to the ground around in circle. Her clothes were instantly replaced by a flowing white dress. She didn't care. For now, she could savor the sweet moment that was the world of dreams. Her dreams: something that the cruel men who bound her into this slavery could never take away. These dreams belonged to her and her alone.

There was a small pond and she walked over to it, for some reason, intrigued by it. She stood before it, and her reflection rose out of the water to greet her.

"Mirror," she whispered, but her voice was lost to the breeze. She smiled at the familiar image rising to meet her and the image's hand reached out to touch her own, palm to palm. They stood there for a moment, staring at each other until the girl in front of her nodded.

A voice began to speak in her head: "You are going to lose something important to you by the time the sun rises."

Sakura felt her jaw set into angry grimace. She jerked her hand away as if it had been burnt, cradling it by her side. "I'VE ALREADY LOST EVERYTHING IMPORTANT TO ME! MY LIFE IS GONE! MY FRIENDS ARE GONE! MY VIRGINITY! I'M BEGINNING TO LOSE MY HEALTH! WHAT ELSE CAN I LOOSE?" she screamed.

"Your magic." She saw Mirror's lips moving in concert with the words, but no sound emerged. The voice continued to echo in her mind.

"My magic?" Her head cocked slightly to the side. "Wait… you can't take that away from me."

"We are not."

Sakura continued to look at the card with the same puzzled expression. "Who's 'we'?"

Mirror began to pace before her, something Sakura found puzzling. She chalked the entire motion up to part of her dream. "The cards, Cerebus, Yue…" The image began to tick the names off on slender fingers.

"Then who is?"

The card stopped pacing to set its concerned gaze on her. "You are doing it to yourself. You are the one sealing your own magic, but you just do not know it yet. You have not realized it."

"Why?" She choked on the word, finding it difficult to get out. "Why would I seal my own magic away."

"Because… you need to find out for yourself. We still do not know."

"Do they know where I am? I mean, Kero and Yue… or at least can you send them a message that I'm alive?"

"They know you are alive, but still afraid the chance that you are dead. Everyone is frustrated because they are unable to sense you."

"Because my magic is fading right?"

"Right."

"And I can't do anything about it?"

"To our knowledge… no."

"Oh. Well, at least it's good to know that I have some friends here in the dream world." Sakura stopped as the conversation finally sunk into her weary brain. "My magic, it'll be gone when I wake up, won't it?"

The figure nodded.

"Then… then I won't be able to see people in my dreams… the people that I love… anymore, will I?"

The card nodded solemnly. "I am sorry mistress." The image wavered and began to fade away. The scenery around her shattered to be replaced by pure black. The fragments of her peaceful dream world making delicate tinkling noises as it clattered against the ground. The ground beneath her shimmered and it solidified into the face of a large ticking clock. She could perceive the dim outline of her body and realized she was naked again. She hastily covered herself up, but quickly realized that, in her own dreams, there really wasn't anyone around to see her.

Sakura felt the tears beginning to well up in her eyes. "I really am alone now." Her shoulders slumped, her arms falling against her side, as the tears flowed faster. "Kero? Yue? Touya? Where are you?" She sunk to her knees, pressed down by the hopelessness of her situation.

Another figure, clad in emerald robes, materialized before her and she turned away from the cruel image. It only began to multiply before her eyes. It opened its mouth, speaking words that were unheard. Only this time, the voice didn't echo though her head. She could hear the faint ticking of the mechanisms beneath her growing slower and slower until something ground to a halt. The grinding noise echoed through the darkness, and silence reigned once again. Each figure stayed frozen, mouth opened as if trapped in a soundless, unending scream, unmoving and silent but still gazing at her with blank stares.

"What are you doing here?" she whispered.

The horde of clones only continued their eerie vigil.

"Why are you torturing me like this?"

A strong wind began to rush though the dreamscape and she felt a sudden chill rush over her body. As each image was touched by the wind, it began to waver and then began to break apart into a flurry of leaves. Soon nothing was left but a maelstrom of fiery colors and the shattered pieces of her broken dreams roaring toward her. She tried to turn and run, but she was frozen in place. And the maelstrom enveloped her, picking her up and tossing her high into the air. The shards of her dream slashed at her, the tornado only absorbed the blood that seeped out of the gashes appearing on every inch of her body. There was no pain in the dream, but the blood continue to flow, staining the ground a deep crimson where the droplets were flung away by the wind.

The sudden, horrid realization came over her that all she could do was watch, trapped in the violent, whirling cycle of pain and destruction.

- - -

She sat up suddenly and screamed. The slight tingle she felt from her magic was gone and she slumped against the mattress, momentarily forgetting the pain in her back. She yelped when it greeted her and sighed. _Back into reality…_

She sat up again, gingerly trying to avoid brushing her back against anything. She only succeeded in collapsing onto her side. And her gaze fell on the mirror across from her. Her reflection stared back at her and she was almost ashamed at what she saw.

The clothes strewn around her were tattered and stained. Her dress torn in at least three places. The blouse would fall down one shoulder. A slight cut was there that she hadn't remembered receiving. Attempting to smile, her imaged afforded her a view of the same feigned expression. She frowned and the reflection did the same. It was funny, staring at yourself when you aren't looking at 'you'.

She rolled slowly, albeit painfully, into a sitting position. The remains of the schoolgirl uniform lay beside her, not that the people who used her body cared what she was dressed it. But at least it gave her some feeling of modesty. She tugged the once-white blouse toward her and pulled it over her head. Only a few clumsy knots held the shirt above her breasts and even on her body at all. Those same knots gave her a little more covering. But that could be easily taken from her. One hand brushed against the faded yellow ribbon – the same ribbon had once graced her chest – tied around her neck as her hands fumbled to pull the shirt over her head without tearing the precious fabric. The collar reminded her of her enslavement and she yearned to tear it from her throat. But even her slender fingers had been able to remove it. So she left it there. At least her 'customers' had liked it. Her probing fingers found the skirt next, hanging off the edge of the bed where it had been so carelessly flung. The knee-length, navy material had the same treatment of knots in it, bestowing upon her a shred of a feeling of decency. She slid it on wordlessly and stared once again at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was tied into a ponytail by the same yellow fabric that she wore around her neck. Even tied above her head, it still hung down below her shoulders.

But they wouldn't let her cut it. Too dangerous to give her any sharp object. They knew just as well as she did that she would take her life given the opportunity. They had almost taken her sheet, but the material was adhered to the bed by the multitude of bloodstains and other bodily fluids, rendering it utterly useless as a noose. Her blood… her stains. She was even sitting on one of the patches now. She looked up and peered at her image in the mirror, brushing a few strands of hair away from her face, out of her eyes.

_Why do I even care? Because someone may take me away from here. Why would the do that? They pity you. Pity? Oh, I had forgotten about that…_

Two vertical lines cut through the layer of dirt on her face and her hands moved of their own accord in order to touch the marks. It took a few minutes for her to realize that they came from the tears she had not remembered crying. She hastily rubbed at her face, trying to remove the lines etched into it by sorrow. Any reminder of her daily torture had to be removed. But she only succeeded in creating a pattern of dirty smears on her face. She tried rubbing again, but only a few flecks floated off her face, drifting down to stick to her shirt and skirt – if they could even be called that anymore.

_At least the path of my tears is gone…_

She had just flopped back down on the bed when the door creaked open. Sentry walked in, a length of rope coiled in his hands. He shut the door softly behind him and walked over to the now trembling girl before him. She fought for a moment, scrambling into the corner, not caring that she was trapped but drawing comfort from the slim feeling of safety that suddenly washed over her. He still grabbed her by the arm, hauling her protesting body roughly over to where he stood. She cried out sharply as he jerked her to him by her wrists. Her body lay crumpled against him, panting for the second wind that didn't want to come. Her pleas were ignored as he silently mashed her arms together and bound her wrists. He patted her affectionately on the shoulder and she cringed, shrinking away from him. He turned and began to walk out of the room.

"Help me," she croaked. Her throat was dry, and she could swear she heard a wheezing noise whenever she inhaled. Sakura fidgeted in the bonds. "Please," she said softly, "help me."

He rolled his eyes, turning slightly so he faced her. "Shut up."

"Help me!" she repeated, the level of her voice at a loud, pleading cry. But it was ragged, weak… pathetic in sound as well as effort. She lay on the bed, gasping for breath. It scared her how much effort that two simple words took. The third nearly robbed her of oxygen.

"Damn it," he yelled, grabbing her roughly by the collar of her shirt and shaking her violently, "be quiet."

"Please?" she whispered. "Please stop. Sentry, please stop. You're hurting me. Please stop." She continued to mumble, the words flowing like water out of a faucet. He shook her again, and she continued the monotonous drone of words.

He dropped her onto the bed and she bounced once on the mattress. She immediately curled into a small ball, shivering in the cold air. His hand wrapped around her ankle, fastening the cuff attached to the end of the bed to her body. She jumped at his initial touch, but only shrank into a smaller ball when the click of the lock echoed through the room.

"Go to sleep," he muttered. He tossed a small blanket over her body.

"W-Why d-do you," a sharp intake of air, "do th-this S-Sentry?" she asked. Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"It's my job." He sighed. "Go to sleep."

"It hurts to close my eyes," she murmured.

"Then sleep with them open," he snapped. Rising off the bed, he walked slowly toward the door.

She rolled to face him, the chain on her ankle clanging against the bedpost. "That hurts too," she said. Her voice was hoarse and the words were full of the forced effort it took to even project them that far.

"Just go to sleep." He listened to her grope around for something and turned to watch her before closing the door. The sound of metal on metal drifted to his ears followed by the sound of her swallowing something. The object, one of the small metal bowls, dropped to the floor with a loud clank and clattered to a stop against a wall.

She peered with forlorn curiosity at the bowl for a moment and looked at him. Their eyes met and she flinched, but continued to hold his gaze.

"Good night," she said after a moment, drawing her arm back into her chest.

"Good night," he said, closing the door softly.

Sakura looked at her reflection in the mirror once more, feeling her eyelids beginning to droop. The image danced for a moment as her eyes watered. "Hey…" she murmured sleepily to the mirror, "good night." And for a moment, she swore that her imaged winked at her before it solidified as the first droplet rolled down her cheek.

- Post Fiction -

Another chapter. Another revision. I felt the need to expand this story in the original Fallen but never got around to it. So here it is. It was just too damn short in the first story and didn't really explain too much. But I'm working on that. I think that writing Twin Strangers really helped me to realize what I've been doing wrong with much of my previous writings, so please continue to read and review these. I look forward to all of your comments. After all, reviewing takes but only a minute.

_Ja matta ne!_


	5. Neo: Cry

Neo Fallen

Written by: Ciuline Ihmenjo

Card Captor Sakura does not belong to me. The characters in Card Ccaptor Sakura do not belong to me. CLAMP owns CCS. Besides, even if you do try and sue me, I have no money.

- - Pre-fiction - -

It's taking a while for me to bring my writing to the quality that I want it to be…

To everyone who has reviewed, thank you for your comments and constructive criticism (not that there has been very much, but thank you nonetheless). And for the person who asked me, "Have you actually finished any of you fiction?" Please note my story Twin Strangers, because at seven chapters, I have finished my best work (behind Neo Fallen), even if it is a Meilin/Touya fic. Hey, no one ever said that you have to stick to the mainstream couples. But, please don't hate me for making the decision to be a little different.

Either way, please just sit back, relax, and enjoy yet another step in this world.

_Italicized words_ are thoughts. **Bold words** are emphasis. CAPS WORDS are shouting

- - Neo Fallen: Cry - -

"Eriol?" Her sudden words cut through the awkward silence that had fallen over the room. Her cup of tea lay untouched on the table. The small column of steam that still rose from it was beginning to fade into nothingness. For now, it was but a tiny thread, struggling to stay visible.

"Yes?" He set his own half-empty cup down on the lacquered table, settling back into the couch with his fingers interlaced behind his forehead.

A pen lay beside a stack of news clippings and a single open notebook. The notebook itself was filled with a large amount of somewhat random scribbling about things that had been deemed helpful in the ongoing search for Sakura. Even if the police had not found a single trace of evidence, the fact that her magic had faded to nothingness after about two months had greatly troubled the reincarnation of Clow Reed. He knew for a fact that she was still alive – after all, Kaho had never been wrong in these matters – but this time, he was not as inclined to trust her instincts. But, after four months had passed since her disappearance, none of those who knew her had given up hope on the fact that she was alive.

"Do you really think we'll find her?" Tomoyo spoke barely above a whisper. She was staring down into her teacup, the ripple still settling from where his motions had shifted the table slightly.

"I know we will," he said. It was hard to put such conviction behind his words, but he knew that Sakura would return to them, if not only because Kaho had said that it would be that way.

"Can we really trust Kaho?" Tomoyo asked, meeting his eyes with a teary-eyed stare.

"She's never been wrong before." Eriol leaned forward and reached for the teapot. He felt her hand on it first. Both teenagers pulled suddenly away.

"I'm sorry!" he said, only seconds behind her exclaimed apology. "R-Really, you can go right ahead."

"I-I was just about to pour you another cup of-"

It was this point that Eriol started laughing. The noise began as a soft giggle and turned into full laughter.

"It's not funny!" Tomoyo said, the line formed by her lips was turned downward into a slight pout.

"But it is. It is!" he said, still laughing. "We're a fine bunch of idiots."

"We're what?" she asked.

"Idiots," Eriol replied, stifling the remaining laughter. Tomoyo began to say something, but he stepped around the table and held up his index finger, pressing it to her lips. "Letting ourselves get so embarrassed over something so simple."

"Oh."

"Exactly," he settled back into his chair, coughing once to clear his throat. "Now, back to the matter at hand."

"Right… matter at hand." She was still slightly flustered, and she almost dropped the teapot while pouring him another cup. The feeling seemed to pass quickly, and she once again became the normal, calm and composed Tomoyo Daidouji. He accepted it gladly and began to add a little sugar to it, stirring it with the small spoon.

"Anyhow," he took a sip out of the hot drink, "Kaho has a new lead. I've applied for a post one of her sources had given her. It's for a doctor's position. I should be able to treat Sakura at some point."

Tomoyo's expression brightened and she looked up. "You would really do that?"

"It will prove to be… difficult," he said slowly, deliberately. "I won't be able to do much anything for her as a friend. Hopefully she won't be able to recognize me, so I won't be put in any situation that could potentially harm her or myself. The selection process is completely random. I won't be able to guarantee that I could see her at all. And even then, I have no way of getting in contact with them to see who I am going to see."

"But if she doesn't recognize you…" Tomoyo trailed off. "I think I understand," she said quietly. "Maybe then," she paused, walking over to her bag. She proceeded to root around in it for a moment until she produced the desired object. "Then could you give this to her when you see her?" She walked over to the boy and clasped one of his hands in her own. "It's just something, anything to know she's out there."

"I'll try." He opened his hand to reveal a folded lavender square. "What is it?"

"One of my handkerchiefs. It's just something to let her know we are trying to find her, that we still care."

"She knows," was the soft reply. He tried to return the cloth to her but soon found it back in his palm, pressed there by her trembling hand.

"At least tell me that I've succeeded in something. Tell me that I helped her in some way. That I'm not a failure!" she cried out. Her face hovered inches in front of his. Her hands, which had somehow found their way to his shoulders, were trembling. "Eriol, please tell me that I did something... that I didn't fail **her** completely!"

"You did not fail her." His voice was loud and confident. He smiled at her - the same smile that had melted the heart of many a girl - and gently kissed her forehead. "You did everything that you could, and I think that should count for something."

"It doesn't." He eyes closed and she sunk into his body. "It really doesn't amount to anything Eriol."

He watched her bury her face in his shirt, clutching the fabric to her face. He could hear her sobs and placed a comforting arm around her shoulder. "In the end, it will be okay." He knew it would, or at least hoped it would. But Kaho's prediction of Sakura's escape from the cruel institution that held her had done little to calm his nerves.

- - Three months earlier - -

"Damn it Kaho!" He was pacing in front of her while the growing cloud of his frustration was almost to the point of being tangible. Both of his guardians watched him, Nakuru wore a curious but concerned expression while Spinel had one of utter seriousness. And Nakuru continued to chew on the handkerchief in her mouth. "How can you **not** expect me to storm in there and save her?"

"I know that's what you want to do, but it would be disastrous." Kaho stepped away from the wall she was leaning against.

"I would kill them all," he growled, his voice seemed to echo through the room. "They can't do this to her."

"But by saving her, you would do much worse." Her hands relocated themselvesto his shoulders and she moved her face closer to him until her forehead touched his own. "I know about what these people can do. Where she is, do you think that's the only such organization in Japan? There are others, the sources I've been able to contact are sure of it. Her friends would be targeted. Daidouji, she would be put in danger."

The words halted Eriol's tirade. His fists unclenched and he collapsed into her body. "No…" he whispered.

"They would," she drew away, leading him over to the couch. The two guardians followed. "You can't place them in danger like that."

"But this is Sakura that we're talking about!"

"She'll find her own way out of this, with or without your interference."

"I'm not interfering," he said darkly, eyes narrowing to slits, "I'm going to save her." He turned his head to glare at her, instead finding Nakuru's face hoveringinches in front of his own.

"Master," she said softly, clutching the damp handkerchief to her breast, "you can't do this, I… I like Daidouji and Kinomoto and Touya and Tsukishiro and—" She trailed off when he put a hand in front of him, one finger resting on the tip of her nose.

"I," he began, his voice lightening, back from the dark depths he had stumbled into, "I would never do anything to hurt them, any of them."

"Your relative will be mad at you," Spinel said, landing on Nakuru's shoulder with a slight cringe. She smiled at the creature and placed an affectionate hand on its head. "I won't do anything," she whispered, "this time."

"That I'm not doing anything?" Eriol said, rising from the chair. His luggage rose from the table to meet him halfway to the door.

"That you are." The reply came almost instantly and he stopped, for only a moment, to consider it.

"I need to do something, even if it is to comfort those she left behind."

His hand was on the doorknob when she spoke again. "You won't do anything rash will you?"

He shook his head. "I can't leave her to die in there." Turning to face her, he met the sad, almost distant look on her face. "She will be alright?"

"I have a feeling that she'll get out on her own. I can't say how or when, but she'll find a way. She always does."

"You didn't answer my question."

"She'll be okay." Kaho smiled, the expression carried the same sad, distant look with it. "She will get out of there on her own."

He turned the knob. "That's what I'm afraid of."

- - -

She rolled over and retched, the foul taste of bile rising in her throat. She felt like she had been thrown from a building or maybe hit by a car. Either of those experiences would be more pleasant that what she was feeling at the moment. Her entire body ached. She had a cold, one that was getting progressively worse. The fact that she still had to see paying "customers" did nothing to make her feel any better. _You have no manners… you could have at least asked._ She gagged, trying to remove the bitter taste from her mouth. "Ass," she muttered.

"You said something?" He was still dressing, pulling his shirt over his head.

"Nothing," she said sweetly, struggling into a sitting position so she could at least locate some of her clothes. "I'm cold." The strong cord wrapped around her wrists – and digging into the flesh there – prevented her from wrapping her arms around her like she wished to. Not that the gesture would do much to diminish the chill, but at least it would be comforting.

"You shouldn't be." The man gave her a wink and clutched her face roughly in one hand. "Not after what we did." He gave her a kiss on the lips, all but mashing her face into his mouth. She tried to turn away. But she was too weak; he was too strong. And then it was over, he pulled away, dropping her chin from his hand. Something hit her in the face. She felt the cloth slide down her body to pool in her lap. "Your shirt, you may need it." He chuckled. "After all, it is cold out. And with all the sweating you did…"

"Thank you," she lied through clenched teeth. Her words were like air, barely noticeable. Her hands, awkward as they were due to the limited movement her bonds afforded her, steadied her body just enough so that she could maintain her position.

"No," he smiled back at her, "thank you." He began to whistle a tune she didn't quite recognize and walked out the door with a slight spring in his step. She saw the man hand Sentry a small wad of cash through the slight gap between the still-open door and the wall. The door closed and she breathed a sight of relief. She then fell over promptly onto her side.

She found that she was facing the same shattered mirror. She could still see her reflection in the broken glass. And her back still felt like someone had lit it on fire. The wave of nausea, along with the flashes of pain, almost made her vomit. But she somehow managed to keep it down. The reflection hadn't changed much in the last few months. She still wore the same ragged clothes, though they were even more worn and tattered now. A piece of string kept the end of the long ponytail somewhat neat. At least it kept her hair out of her eyes. Her shirt had been worn away to almost nothing, the frayed ends of her knots barely kept the material on her body. Her skirt was in a similar condition, held together by nothing but a few loose ties. She sighed, setting to work to fasten the loose ends of the blouse back so that it covered her body. A red mark was beginning to form where it had been ripped from her chest. Her right hand twitched slightly, ruining the knot she had been tying. She stopped and gathered the material to her chest. _Now I won't have to worry so much about loosing it or ripping it any more that it already is._

She looked at the mirror again and then at her body. She still had not been struck in the front except for when he slapped her. A small tendril of red wrapped around her chest from her back where the lash of the whip had traveled too far. She curled into a ball, more for safety than comfort, and tried to sleep. But the noise of the door opening stopped that motion.

"Sentry, you said I had…" she trailed off when he walked into the room. "Hoe? D-did I not raise enough money again?" She curled into a tighter ball, ignoring the futility of the effort. "Please," she said, "I'm hurting enough already. Please Sentry, don't hurt me anymore… please… please don't… please don't hurt me." She sniffled. The bed shifted beneath her and she gave a startled jump at the motion.

"You have an appointment tomorrow with a doctor," he said. A hand touched her body, tracing the faint scars and fresh cuts on her back. She hissed, cringing each time his fingertips brushed against a distinctly painful spot on her back. "I wouldn't do this if you did better."

"I'm trying my best, damn it," she spat. "Why don't **you** do what I'm doing?"

"Silence." One word. She chose to ignore it, her voice rising in volume with each passing word.

"After all, you don't care about me… you feed me shit for meals… and you—" He backhanded her, snapping her head back from where she attempted to tuck it into her chest.

"I told you to be quiet." She pursed her lips together. Two emerald orbs shined defiantly in his direction.

"And don't look at me like that, it makes me want to hit you again."

She averted her eyes, quickly, obviously tired of getting struck in the face. "That's going to bruise you know," she muttered, uncurling her body to bring her hands to her face. She rubbed the mark ruefully with the thumb of one hand. "They're not going to pay as much for damaged goods."

"They ignore your back," he said nonchalantly with a wave of one hand, "they can ignore this." He rose from the bed, one hand wrapping around her ankle as he stood.

"Ow… HEY!" she cried out. He ignored her, dragging her body over the end of the bed and chaining her ankle back to the frame. "Damn it, get me out of here you bastard!" He only began to walk toward the door. "Don't walk away! Listen to me…" her voice faltered, growing much lower in volume. "Please?" she begged desperately pleading with him.

"I can just insert your insults back into you tonight." The menace in his voice was painfully clear, his eyes looking past her and to the wall. She immediately fell silent upon hearing it. Following his gaze, she saw the shelf where he stored the whip. She quickly turned her head from it and looked down at the mattress. "Much better. Oh, and don't forget your doctor's appointment," he said before closing the door. "He'll be expecting payment from you, I'm sure of it." She heard him chuckle before the soft click reached her ears.

"What kind of—" Sakura paused, letting his words sink into her brain. "Oh, that…" she murmured. _Nothing much I can do about it anyhow._ She winced, rolling over so her back was to the door. She sniffled again, curling into a tighter ball, trying to shield herself from the cold._ Please, be a nice person. Please, let him be nice for once…_

- - Post Fiction - -

First, I would like to ask, if I promise you guys that I'll update faster, WILL YOU PLEASE REVIEW MORE OFTEN, please? Then again, 4 chapters and I have 29 reviews. That's 7 and 1/4 per chapter. Not too bad. I really would like longer reviews to. I mean, yeah, "I like it" is good and all, but I'd like reasons you like it and what you don't like about it. I can perfectly understand if you don't have the time to write a long review, but please do take more time to tell me about my story if you get the chance, even if it is just in an e-mail. Feedback means a lot to me, whether it is positive or negative.

I'm still trying to expand on so much of the old stuff. Just about this whole chapter is new when it comes to the story, just a few snips from old chapters with a load of expansion on them. And I'm expanding on the whole Eriol and Tomoyo romance a little because it fits so well that I felt that I should have it. It's good because I can flesh that out while still keeping my other stuff in there. Don't worry about me though. I'll be posting about two more times before break is over. Now, just where did I put those story notes?

_Ja matta ne!_


	6. Neo: Visitation

Neo Fallen

Written by: Ciuline Ihmenjo

Card Captor Sakura does not belong to me. The characters in Card Captor Sakura do not belong to me. CLAMP owns CCS. Besides, even if you do try and sue me, I have no money.

- Pre-fiction -

First and foremost, I would like to thank the following people (and if I got anything wrong, I'm doing this from memory people because that part of the document didn't like being e-mailed to my school account so I could work on this here). **Scorpinac**, **coke24cola**, **pnaixrose**, **Sunnflower**, **artemis366**, **Helbaworshipper**… some of you haven't been around as long as some of the others, but you are still invaluable fans. I don't know where I would be without you.

And to all of those who actually paid any attention what-so-ever to me footnote… THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ACTUALLY GIVING ME FEEDBACK! Especially those of you who took the time to wish me a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, I send you my thanks as well. April 10 is the next important holiday on my list. And other than my own birthday, it's something else. Kudos to whoever guesses it correctly… and a little extra something that I'll get to that person in the near future.

_Italicized words_ are thoughts. **Bold words** are emphasis. CAPS WORDS are shouting

- - Neo Fallen: Visitation - -

Her blanket lay just out of reach. A cloth puddle flung to the edge of the bed last night during her restless fit of tossing and turning. She resisted the urge to cry out as the pain returned, slamming full-force into her sleep-fogged brain.

It hurt. Everything hurt. He had beaten her again, violently this time. Now, she was sore and could barely lift her arms or even more, her legs. And she was still tired. She shielded her eyes from the sunlight that peeked through the window. Despite the brick wall that her small room looked out on (possibly the other side of an alleyway), light could still stream into her window from time to time. It was something that she hadn't seen in a long while… sunlight. But, it didn't really matter. She didn't really care. She didn't want to be here. But, it wasn't like she had any choice in that matter though…

Sakura tried to roll over, making every attempt to ignore the tongues of pain shooting up her back. She uncurled slowly from the ball she had slept in. There were fresh cuts and bruises from where he had hit her the previous night. The doctor that was supposed to come today would see to them. At least, she hoped that he could do something to improve the way she felt.

She coughed. Her entire body went into a spasm. She tried to bring her hand to her mouth to stifle it, but her arms were still bound behind her back. She tested the bonds on her legs – ones that she had only recently become aware of – trying to move them as well. The effort wasn't worth anything in her eyes, so she soon gave up. There was not much point in trying. Someone would be by soon enough to free her, and if not Sentry, one of her customers might take enough pity on her and cut her bonds. As unlikely as that situation would be, it was possible. But, Sentry would probably untie her so she could eat breakfast, retying her as soon as she finished. As if on cue, he entered, a knife in his hand. He bent down over her body. She shied away from him, squeezing her eyes shut even though she knew that he wouldn't hit her – at least, not now. But she had known him long enough – after all, four months is quite a long time to spend with a **complete** stranger without getting to know some things about that person – to know the he was easily displeased. Most of that displeasure was due to her. And, by the look on his face, that was the exact mood he was in at the current moment.

He moved the knife to her arms and then to her legs and the bonds fell away. She breathed a response of appreciation, flexing and rotating her wrists as the circulation came back to her hands. The bonds on her legs were gone seconds later – another soft thank you – and she hugged her knees to her chest. Her head fell forward, landing on her knees with a soft thump.

"I'm cold," she said.

"You're always cold," he muttered, brushing the ropes of the bed.

"Well, it's true." She rubbed her hands together and cupped them to her face, blowing into them. "These clothes aren't much insulation. It **is** the middle of winter after all."

His eyebrow twitched out of annoyance. "Do you ever stop talking?" Sentry asked.

"Only when I'm not crying," she snapped, raising her head off her knees.

He shook his head and grabbed her roughly by the wrist.

"Hey!" she cried out. "Let go of me! I'm perfectly capable of moving my own body."

"No, you're not. You can't even sit up for one whole minute." He hoisted her body up into a sitting position. She slammed her free arm into the bed, trembling with the effort needed to keep her body upright. It didn't last very long. She collapsed onto the bloodstained sheets as her arm finally gave out from beneath her. "See?" he said calmly, "you are pathetic."

She looked away, turning to do so. She rested her head back on her knee. Her emerald eyes carried a hurt expression. "Y-yeah… s-so?" she stammered.

"Exactly."

He pulled her toward him. Sakura went completely limp, letting him drag her across the bed until she reached the edge. He stopped, letting her swing her legs over the side of the bed and onto the floor. The tranquil moment lasted only for a moment. Sentry yanked her forward. She stumbled, trying to check her movement, but fell onto her face. Only the way he held her arm, wrenched back and extended upward, prevented her from planting her nose into the wooden floor.

"Nooo… Sentry… stop, please stop…" she sobbed. "Ow! It hurts…" She put her other arm out, trying to find a purchase to help her rise to her feet.

He ignored her pleas and only continued to drag her toward the door. She could hear activity from somewhere across the hall, instantly pitying the girl within that room. A scream echoed from elsewhere in the building. Sakura only lowered her gaze to the floor, trying desperately to study the pattern in the wood grain… anything to block the environment around her from her mind.

"Don't fall behind and I won't have to drag you."

"Just… please? Will you let me get back up?" she begged, projecting as much desperation into her voice as she could. She tried again to push herself up with her free hand. Her arm wobbled as she was dragged forward and she lost her balance. She turned her head, bouncing the right side of her face off the floor.

He continued to ignore her, pulling her over the worn wooden planks and onto the smoother ones in the hallway. She was dragged down the finished boards and into the bathroom. She had been in there twice before. Once when she had arrived in this 'hell on earth' and again about two months later. When she had needed to bathe before, she had been given a ragged washcloth and a handful of liquid soap and was allowed to use the small sink in her room.

He took two steps into the bathroom, and she flew the remaining distance to the shower stall. The sheer force of his throw propelled her body through the air. Then she was arcing downward toward yellowed tiles. She slammed into the wall. Her head, as well as the rest of her body, rebounded off the tile and stars swam before her vision. The scene before her blurred as tears welled up in her eyes. _Any lesser person would have passed out from that_, she mused. She had been in this wretched place far too long for such a trivial blow to even faze her. After passing out each day of the first month she had been held in this place, her body – much to her great discomfort – had adjusted itself to endure the pain. She winced, rubbing the spot on the back of her head. _That is going to bruise…_

And then the water came. It hit her as a freezing spray that elicited a cry from her. The water warmed quickly and became unbearably hot. She yelped, sobbing now, her pleading voice begging him to turn it down. He obliged, but only after she had writhed in pain for a minute and her voice had begun to grow hoarse from her screams. She curled into as small a ball as she could manage in the cramped space and just cried. Her tears mingled with the water and flowed down the drain.

Someone else entered the room. The soft, feminine padding of feet echoed off the bare walls. The sound reached her ears despite the roaring sound of the torrent of warm water hammering against her skin and the floor of the shower. At least, that was almost all that she could hear over a persistent ringing that had begun when she had slammed against the wall.

A soft squeak from the girl above her caused Sakura to look up. It was the same child who would brought her food. The girl knelt there, a washcloth in hand. Her lower lip trembled. She opened her mouth, but no sound emerged. The murky blue eyes stared down at her. Locks of honey-blond hair framed a face that could be considered beautiful under different circumstances, and specks of freckles were scattered about her cheeks. The girl nodded to something that was lost to the ringing and gingerly touched the washcloth to Sakura's body. The two cerulean orbs were hidden behind a pair of eyelids for a moment before they were visible again. When she could see them, they flashed a mixture of sorrow and pain. Sakura gasped from the initial contact with the coarse material. The gasp turned quickly into a wail of pain as the rough texture of the washcloth raked over her skin. She groaned, trying to curl back into a ball, trying to roll onto her side. The pain was too great. She hugged her arms to her chest and sobbed. And for the first time in months, she could see the darkness creeping at the edges of her vision. She welcomed it with open arms. The cloth scraped over another tender spot on her back and she passed out.

- - -

When she woke up, the first thing Sakura felt was the frigid air on her skin, raising goosebumps where ever it came into contact with bare flesh. The next thing was the damp spot beneath her. She panicked until she realized that it was only water and not her blood. Her eyes darted around the room, surveying her surroundings. Her clothes were still soaked. She was faintly aware of them being taken off at some point – some of the knots that she had tied in the cloth had been shifted or loosened – but that was between bouts of consciousness. She didn't want to try and remember any of what had happened. She knew that she had been redressed and laid back in her room.

A fluffy white towel lay crumpled in a ball at her feet. She winced, taking in a sharp breath of air as the cotton material of the sheets brushed against her back, and then tried to move. Her head hurt too much to think, and she slumped back onto the mattress.

"Ah, you're awake." She looked over to see him standing at the entrance to the room. He was leaning against the door – propped up against the doorframe. A streak reflected light as she scanned that side of the room from where she had been dragged from the bathroom. She still hadn't moved or made any attempt to do so, knowing fully well that she would be bound.

She began to check her own condition, fully aware of his watchful eye. Her hair had been brushed recently. A new ribbon tied it back into a loose ponytail. Despite this treatment, it still fanned out around her waist. Her face felt like it had been scrubbed raw. Much of the rest of her body felt the same way, her back the most tender spot on her body. She struggled briefly with the ropes she knew would be around her wrists and ankles. Her hands had been bound behind her back and her knees had been bent slightly, the same type of rope was tied tightly around her ankles. A new sensation replaced the usual rough cords. She shifted so she could see her ankles, drawing her legs out in front of her. A piece of cloth had been wrapped around her limbs underneath the ropes so that they were no longer biting into her skin. A glimmer of recognition identified the material as the same style and color of the shirt she was wearing on the day she had been taken.

"They're so you won't rub yourself raw anymore." She didn't know what to say. This man… the same cruel, heartless person who beat her and sold her body for other's pleasure was actually capable of a kind gesture. It rendered her speechless. "I was tired of hearing you complain, so I gave you a little padding." He moved off the doorframe, and shut the door softly behind him. The lock clicked a few minutes later.

Sakura sighed. _So maybe he doesn't have any compassionate bones in his body…_ She tugged at her bonds again and gave up, lying on her side and waiting for the doctor to come.

"Payment," she said softly to the reflection in the mirror, "what am I going to do about paying him?" She shifted, trying to get comfortable. She looked at her reflection in the glass shards and felt absolutely wretched. She wished that she could shatter the remains of the mirror, erase her image from the broken glass.

She tried to imagine what the man coming to treat her would look like. All of the images depicted a cruel, stern person. And all of the people were male. Trying to clear the negative thoughts from it, she shook her head vigorously from side to side. But it did nothing more than make her dizzy. The objects in the room seemed to be swirling about her head. She could still see the dark eyes of her customers peering at her body. She could still hear their voices. She could still feel their hands upon her back and chest, their lips upon her skin. A shudder of revulsion ran through her body.

_I'm tired of paying with my body… with false love… in order to survive._ She sighed, turning her head so she was looking at the ceiling. Anything to rid herself of her image in the mirror. _But what do I really have?_ Her head slumped back down on the bed so she was now gazing back at the mirror. She shifted, uncomfortable with what she was seeing. _This uniform? Who would want these rags? It's not even mine to give. Perhaps a conversation?_ She snorted. _Who would want to talk with a common whore like me?_ She felt the tears welling in her eyes and couldn't brush them away. So she closed her eyes, willing away the tears. Coming to terms with what she had been forcefully reduced to was the hardest thing she had done in her life… harder even than confessing her love for a boy named Syaoran Li. But, the realization ignited something deep within her. It was an unquenchable thirst, a flaming desire for freedom… the ability to taste the clean, crisp air on a bright new day. She knew then that she would be free from this place.

Slightly satisfied, Sakura curled into a ball and felt her eyes begin to droop. Within minutes she was asleep, and for once, she did not dream the nightmares that had plagued her for months.

- - -

The door creaked slowly open. Two men were speaking outside in the hallway with hushed voices. That much she could hear. She felt uncomfortable, unaware of how long she had been asleep. And she tried to stretch, her bonds completely slipping her mind. Her arms wrenched upward and pain tore through her. Wave after wave of agony shot through her arms. This set off a chain reaction that spread into her back and caused her to clamp her mouth and eyes shut, lest her tortured screams echo through the halls. Then he really would beat her. That was the last thing she needed at the present moment. But the searing flames on her back and arms cooled quickly. She went limp on the mattress.

"Wha—?" she gasped. She wobbled for a moment, precariously balanced on her side, and rolled flat onto her face. Her nose squished into the mattress, and a quiet groan of discomfort escaped her lips. She turned her head to the side as the door opened fully, flooding the room with a flickering yellow light. A young man stepped into the room, followed closely behind by Sentry.

The man looked no older than she thought that she looked. She doubted he could have been over twenty years of age. Blinking slowly, she tried to decide whether or not her mind was deceiving her. She gave a sharp, quick tug on the bonds holding her arms behind her back and a twang of pain accompanied it. She hissed, clenching her teeth and squeezing her eyes shut, and knew that she was still in reality. She opened her eyes slowly and the two figures had moved to the middle of the room.

A pair of dark eyes blinked from behind unruly blue-black hair. He was facing her, turned slightly to the side from where he was talking with Sentry. A flicker of a smile flashed on his face, but it was gone in a second. Regardless, Sakura felt herself flush. She struggled to her knees, the motion taking up the time that it took the two men to come within steps of the bed.

"There," he said, jabbing a finger in her direction.

The young man nodded, his hair falling over his eyes. "Please leave me alone so I can begin her treatment." He picked up a black bag from his side and covered the remaining distance to the bed. Sentry nodded, turning to walk out the door. The young man waved at him without so much as a look over his shoulder.

Sakura willed herself to shrink. She wobbled and fell onto her side, immediately scrambling into the corner. Her back collided with the wall and its flaking white paint. A rain of dust fell upon her hair and the bed, forming a small ring around her.

"How may I serve you, sir?" she asked in a shaky voice. She trembled, wide-eyed with fear. The same fear she knew every day had finally broken past her limits until she was no longer able to keep it down. "N-no!" she cried out. "Stay away from me!" Her palms pressed hard against the wall, fingers spread. Her nails dug small furrows into the plasters. She bit her lip to keep it from quivering. She rocked back and forth, her eyes darting around the room.

"I won't hurt you," he said softly, extending a hand, palm up, toward her. She leaned forward, opening her mouth to bite it. Her teeth scraped against his fingertips and he snatched his hand away. The bed squeaked on rusty springs and she fell into the mattress. She turned her head at the last second avoiding slamming it into the rust-brown sheets. His hands supported her, helping her back into a sitting position. He rested her back gently against the wall. A hiss escaped her lips as the hot pain in her back made contact with the cool wall. The young man backed away from her, removing his leg from the spot where his knee dented the mattress.

She watched the material reform and glared at him with bright green eyes. "Why should I believe you?" she spat.

"Huh?" he said. He blinked several times.

"Can speak Japanese?" she asked in broken English. "Do you understand me?" she asked again, switching back to her native tongue.

"I understand you just fine."

"Then understand this… I don't trust you, not for a minute."

He chuckled. "You shouldn't. I know you can't trust me. I wouldn't trust me if I were in your situation."

"At least you have brains," she muttered. He looked down at her as she wobbled again, falling on her side. The bars on the head of the mattress grated against her back and she screamed. His eyes widened in shock and he rushed to assist her.

"I don't need your—" Her words ended abruptly with the sound of a loud smack.

Sentry stood over the bed, grabbing her by her hair to pull her face level with his. She squeaked, trying to support her weight with her bound legs. They seemed to be failing her at the moment. She tried to kick him, but he released her hair, gripping her by her throat instead. And she went limp in his arms.

"Don't speak to your guests like that," he growled.

"I'm sorry!" she wailed. A gurgling noise accompanied her words. "I promise I'll be good this time! I PROMISE!" Her tears ran down her face, falling to the floor beneath her chin. She sobbed loudly, her eyes darting to the doctor, pleading with him to do something. He was frozen in place, completely unaccustomed to this sort of scene.

"I'll make sure to hold you to that." She gurgled, flailing her bound limbs. He only smiled, tossing her casually back onto the mattress. Her head slammed against the metal rods at the head of the bed. The ringing echoed through the room. Her eyes were squeezed shut, her face twisted in pain. She curled into a ball and remained both silent and motionless.

"Are you alright?" the young man asked, unsure of what else to say.

"Of course I…" she began, but instantly clamped her mouth shut when she felt Sentry's eyes on her. "Yes sir," she said softly. Sentry nodded, walking out the door. He wiped his hands on his pants before closing the door behind him with a loud click.

The doctor was now standing beside the bed, squatting so he could pull a number of vials and instruments out of his bag. He set most of them on the nightstand that was set a distance from her bed. A few of the vials were places in his pocket. She watched him with rapt curiosity through a pair of squinted eyes. Her head was throbbing and she could feel the bump rising from where she had collided with the metal frame of the bed.

He looked up at her and sat on the bed, a scalpel held in his hand. She felt her eyes widen, despite the pain radiating throughout her skull. Her vision narrowed to a point, and all she could see was the glint of the sun off the sharp blade.

_No!_ her mind screamed. _He's going to hurt me, just like the others!_ She topped over, falling backward onto the mattress. Her head narrowly missed a second collision with the bed frame. She stared up at him, trying to move away from him. Her bound feet scraped against the sheets and she struggled to move her arms at all. Anything she could do to increase this distance between her and this man would suit her.

"P-Please!" she pleaded. Her eyes wide with fear and her head shook from side to side, the honey-colored ponytail flopping against her shoulders. "Please don't hurt me!"

- Post Fiction -

Well, it's not my best work of all time. Of course, I left a completely tortorous ending... gotta hate cliff-hangers. Looking back, I put that into the original Fallen at chapter two and here it is, finally appearing in Fallen Neo at chapter six. Kind of funny how things like that work out, right? Well, please take the time to review my stories once again! My next update should be sometime near the end of the month.

See you soon!

Ja ne _Ciuline Ihmenjo_


	7. Neo: Voices

Note: do something about said and said softly…

Neo Fallen

Written by: Ciuline Ihmenjo

Card Captor Sakura does not belong to me. The characters in Card Captor Sakura do not belong to me. CLAMP owns CCS. Besides, even if you do try and sue me, I have no money.

- Pre-fiction -

Things that I don't understand include the fluctuation of reviews. I have 15 from chapter 5, but (at my last check) only 7 for the last chapter. Maybe it was all about timing and posting during Christmas break, but I still find it odd. Anyone who can explain this strange phenomenon, please tell me.

Anyhow, I'm just started working on chapter 8 and 9… yes, I still am somewhat following the original Fallen, but I'm trying to include all of the things that I never quite got to during the story. I am glad, though, that my loyal fans send me such lengthy reviews (hint… hint…). I love reading them. Once again, props to the following people for Chapter 6 reviews: **machanbanlover, Gema, SunMistress, Scorpinac, LadyAkina, coke24cola, eyesofheaven, and Helbaworshipper**.And, just like in chapter 4 (or was it chapter 5?) please give me more input, because, after all, an appreciated author is a productive author! But enough with my monologues and onto the story!

_Italicized words_ are thoughts. **Bold words** are emphasis. CAPS WORDS are shouting

- - Neo Fallen: Voices - -

_The voice, so eerily familiar sang in his mind. "Help me Syaoran-kun!" It was a plea, a cry for help from a voice that he couldn't quite place. It was soft and gentle, but filled with pain._

_"Why are you haunting my dreams?" he shouted to the darkness surrounding him. He was in a room, looking out the window through a pair of eyes that were not his own. There was nothing there but a brick wall. He could see rust brown beneath him and the scene wavered and it turned sideways._

_"Syaoran-kun! Where are you Syaoran-kun? Please… please help me!" Out of the darkness came a choked sob… a flash of emerald… a plea for mercy. All sounds and images began to swirl into one and then faded to darkness._

_And a cry cut through the black surroundings. "SYAORAN-KUN!"_

Syaoran Li sat bolt up right in bed, sweat pouring off his face. It was her voice, calling to him from the dark.

"Sakura?" He exhaled her name, the word emerging on a wisp of breath. He barely heard it but still knew he had said it. "Where are you Sakura?" He rolled over, sitting up in the same motion. He swung his legs over the side of his bed and ran his hand through sweat-drenched locks.

"You okay?" a sleepy voice asked from the doorway. Meilin leaned against the wall, drumming the fingers of her left hand on the doorframe. She yawned, opening her mouth wide and ending in a slight frown. "I heard screaming."

"That was me," he confessed. She arched an eyebrow. "I'm okay, really."

"Screaming in your sleep doesn't quite strike me as being 'okay,'" she said.

"It's just that I'm hearing her voice again, like she's trying to reach out to me or something like that." He mopped the sweat from his head with a towel resting on his nightstand and tossed it nonchalantly over his shoulder. "I keep having this dream about her. She's somewhere unfamiliar and alone. And then she screams my name."

"What happens next?"

"I don't know," he said, a slight tinge of red appearing on his face, "I usually wake up before I anything else happens."

"Well," she began, "you haven't heard anything from **her** in over eight months," Meilin crossed her arms over her chest, ruby eyes narrowing to slits. "Why don't you write to her? Go over there and see her if you're going to do anything."

"I can't just up and leave…"

"Yes you can, damn it!" she cried out, throwing her arms up in exasperation. She pushed herself off the wall and stormed across the room. He watched her advance with a questioning eye. "Besides," she said calmly, slowing her pace slightly, "there has to be a perfectly good explanation behind the reason she hasn't spoken to you."

"I hope she's not in trouble." He took a deep breath, watching her as she made her way across the room. She gave him a slight nod as she arrived at the side of his bed. Leaning forward, she placed two hands onto the mattress. It gave slightly under her weight. The loose material of her deep red dress fell forward – pulled down by gravity – shimmering in the morning light. The white material wrinkled slightly under her weight. She began to pull her hair back into two long ponytails, tying them off with a piece of red ribbon.

"Relax," Meilin said. She turned around and flopped down on her back beside him, arms spread wide. She looked up at the ceiling and then at him. "Sakura can handle whatever comes her way, right?"

"Yeah," he said softly, his expression brightening a little. "You're right. I bet she's just fine," he said, a slight, barely detectable nervousness creeping into his voice. He sighed. _If that's the case, then why do I keep having these dreams?_

- - -

"No," she moaned. She pushed herself backward with her arms until her head thumped against the wall. She gasped in pain and squeezed her eyes shut. "Please…"

He watched her with a curious expression. Feeling no contact from him, she opened one eye and then the other.

"You aren't going to hurt me?" she said softly. He shook his head.

"I'm a doctor, why would I want to harm you?" _Oh my god, what have they done to you, Sakura?_ He was still waiting for even a glimmer of recognition in her eyes, but nothing came. She kept glaring at him, twin puddles of emerald focused solely on him. His head tilted slightly to the side, the same curious look still in his eyes. She used her hands, fingertips clawing franticly at the wall, to move her body into a sitting position. Her head rested against the wall so her back wouldn't be pressing against it. And she shut her eyes for a moment, panting from the effort.

"They all do… eventually," she replied softly. She watched him as he placed the scalpel onto the nightstand. He sat on the bed, careful to not disturb it too much. She still fell forward, bouncing slightly on the mattress. She rested her head on the small blanket there and locked him in her gaze.

"I'm not one of them."

"Yes," she whispered, "you are."

He picked up the scalpel again. "You have to trust me."

"AND WHY SHOULD I?" she yelled. The door opened and Sentry looked in. She whimpered and sucked in a deep breath. The doctor shook his head and motioned for the man to stay outside. Sakura slowly let out the air she had unconsciously been holding in her lungs.

"I'm only trying to make you feel better." He regretted his choice of words as soon as they emerged from his mouth.

"Make me feel better?" she said, a mocking tone filled her voice. She snorted. "That's what they all say." She narrowed her eyes into slits. "'I'll make you feel better,' they'll say. Or they'll say, 'I'll help you forget about your pain.'" She buried her face in her hands and then the mattress. Her shoulders jerked every few seconds. It took him a moment to realize she was crying. She looked to the side, salty moistness still shimmering in her eyes. A few rolled off her face to collect in a small pool beside her nose. "Then why don't I feel better?" she mumbled. "Why does no one care about my feelings?" She closed her eyes, her body still trembling. "What about Sakura?" she said softly. "What about me?" She looked away from him, turning her head.

He leaned over her body. She was shaking almost violently as he reached for her arms. He placed a steady hand on her wrists, holding them in his grasp. It was disturbing to feel how thin they were. _No one should be this thin…_ She started babbling something about payments and later, but he brushed her comments aside, trying his best to ignore them.

"Please don't rape me!" she cried out. "I thought you were different!"

Her words halted him in his tracks and he stopped. Dropping her wrists from his grasp, he moved away from her. But she just started to babble again. Eventually, her words began to blend together until he didn't even know what she was talking about. She probably didn't even know what she was talking about, just a steady stream of noise that she hoped would deter the person from doing what every other man did to her.

_Yes… you are…_ Her words rang in his ears. She was crying now, the faint sobs just barely audible over the gibberish. And then, at once, he understood them. The males, she knew offered her no safety or solace, only pain and grief; therefore, he was automatically lumped in with that category. _I wonder what will happen to her feelings for Syaoran?_ He shook his head, trying to clear the echoes of her words. No matter what, he didn't want to hear her trembling voice or the pain that filled each sound that emerged from her mouth. Her cheek was pressed to the mattress, shining emerald eyes hidden behind two curtains as the tears trickled down her cheeks. She struggled briefly when he grabbed her again, her words growing louder and more desperate. After only a second or two, her motions ceased and she lay limply on the mattress.

Sakura whimpered softly as she felt the cold metal on her skin. She squeezed her eyes shut even tighter. And then, suddenly the presence of the ropes on her wrists was gone. He grabbed her legs and cut the ropes that were there as well. The blood rushed back into her hands and feet, and she cried out, muffling the noise by clamping her mouth shut. Slowly opening her eyes, she brought her arms in front of her face, looking at them in awe. Using her newly freed arms to tuck her legs underneath her, she sat up, blinking rapidly. She held her arms in front of her examining them as if she had never seen them in her life. He moved away from her body, a slight blush on his face.

"Can you at least try and trust me?" he asked. He held the blade by his side and they started at each other for a moment, trying to gauge the other's intentions.

"No one…" she began, "no one has ever done that before."

"Done what?" he asked, completely bewildered by her words.

"Untied me," she said. Her voice wavered. "It's not like they care about how I feel. All they care about is the sex." She sniffled, rubbing her eyes with her arm. "I mean… all I really am is a whore. Men pay to use my body." She shuddered as some unpleasant memories rose to her mind.

"Then how do they—?"

"They usually use me with the bonds on." She looked away from him. "It hurts… a lot. My arms and legs really don't stretch that far." Something like a nervous laugh emerged from her lips and she choked back a sob. Taking a deep breath, she resumed speaking after a few minutes had passed. "It's just that… I think that I've finally come to terms with this and all… with what I've become. It's not that bad. Really, it isn't. I mean, I'm still fed three times a day and I have a roof over my head… clothes on my body." Her eyes were glistening, but she refused to cry. Her face betrayed her bravado, revealing her false words for what they were. She realized it the minute he nodded.

"It's okay," he said, "just let it out."

And she broke down. "Who am I kidding? It's terrible, but I guess that I found a way to shut it out. Maybe I haven't… maybe I'm only kidding myself. I just don't care anymore. Nothing matters to me. I'm a slave to them. They've stolen everything from me. Let them do to me what **they** want. Do with me what **you** want to." She hung her head and placed her arms in front of her, steadying her body. He reached out and grasped one of her hands. She flinched, but felt him press an object into her palm. His fingers curled her own into a fist.

She jerked her arm away from him. Pulling it to her chest, she didn't have to open her hand to see the scalpel jutting out from her clenched fist. She stared at it dumbly.

"It's for you, so you can defend yourself." He watched her as she stared curiously at it. And then a sudden flash of inspiration came over her face. She grasped the end of the blade in one hand and pressed the bladed edge to her wrist. His eyes widened as hers closed. She held her arm away from her body.

"NO!" he shouted. He lunged forward, slapping the blade from her grasp. She scrambled after it, but he clutched her arm firmly, holding her back. She clawed at the scalpel. Her fingertips grazed it, but only succeed in pushing it farther away. Slumping on the mattress, she began to sob.

"Please," she pleaded, "my life is all that I own. It's all that I have left. Please, at least allow me to take that! They haven't taken my life from me yet!" She struggled weakly before surrendering in his grasp.

"I'm not going to let you commit suicide," he said softly. "After all, think of all the people who would miss you."

"ANYTHING IS BETTER THAN THIS!" she cried out. "I'll take any flaming pit over what I've become. I don't care who misses me, anything to release me from this… this torture." She continued to sob and the door opened and closed audibly in the background. Her hand still attempted to reach for the blade that was just out of its reach. And then the shadow eclipsed both doctor and unwilling patient.

The doctor was shoved away from the bed. Sakura felt herself lifted off the mattress. "Go outside," he commanded.

"I have to treat my patient. Put her down," the young man demanded. He stealthily grabbed the almost-forgotten scalpel from the sheets, putting it in his pocket.

"And my word here is God. If you wish to treat her, go outside and you can have her when I'm done." The man pointed, holding Sakura suspended over the floor in his other hand.

"But I will not just leave my patient," the doctor countered, eyes blazing. He crossed his arms over his chest, tapping one foot impatiently. He stalked over to the man, jabbing a finger into Sentry's chest. "I refuse to leave until you release her."

"You can and you will," Sentry growled, "or I will just have you leave for the day. If that happens, you won't get to treat her at all and you won't get paid. But, if you insist." He released the tattered collar of Sakura's shirt and she fell to the ground. The girl landed in a tangled heap of arms and legs. She screamed as her back collided with the ground and curled into a fetal position.

_All this man wants is his payment. _"Please," she croaked, her throat suddenly dry, "just… please… go." The doctor looked at her as if she had just slapped him, but he nodded, walking silently from the room.

Sentry waited until the younger man left before lifting her back up by the collar. The door clicked shut. He dragged her across the floor. Sakura whimpered, hands trying to find any surface to grab. She kicked her legs in a useless effort to escape. Two small hands clutched at his arms, trying to pry them away her collar.

"He untied you. You must have done some very **special** favors for that," he said sarcastically. He shook her and her whimpers turned to sobs.

"You… you're… you're choking me," she said softly. He ignored her or couldn't hear her. She suspected the former.

"Must have done something real special for him." He turned so he was facing the door, dragging her body through the air. "After all, you have him defending your worthless body." He threw her to the ground. Sakura slammed into the worn wood floor. She bounced twice before skidding to a halt in the middle of the room. Curling back into a fetal position, she tried to present as small a target as possible for the blow she knew would be coming. Hearing his heavy footsteps as he made his way over to her, she began to sob loudly. _Little good this will do, the walls in this room must be soundproofed. I can't hear anything unless it is inside the room or the window is open, so the doctor won't hear me. But, after all, since I am so close to the outside, They can't have anyone hearing my—_

Her train of thought ground to an abrupt halt. And then her world exploded. He lashed out multiple times, connecting solidly with her small frame. Her eyes bulged. She felt all the air rush from her lungs.

"Oh God…" she moaned softly. Her body tensed and she curled into a smaller ball. "Please… p-please… s-st-stop," she whimpered. The sound of her voice was muffled by the way she had her head pressed into her arms and chest. It still barely emerged from her dry lips. She felt her eyes beginning to roll into the back of her head, but her traitorous body managed to keep her conscious.

A shiny trail ran down her face. The small droplets went completely unchecked as the rags she wore soaked them up greedily. She tried desperately to move away, but he kicked her again. Her body went limp. The force of his blow threw her forward a few inches causing her to skid across the floor. She unwillingly was forced to change positions from her protective ball and rolled until she landed on her stomach. Two quivering arms tried vainly to push her on her feet. The effort only ended with her landing flat on her face as her arms gave way. They landed fully extended from her side. Her nose squished into the floor and she let out a muffled squeak of pain.

"Help me," she cried out, pouring all of her effort into a scream. It was a pathetic gesture in her mind. Her ears perceived the noise only as a hoarse cry. She prayed that some of the noise would escape the room. Two emerald orbs focused blearily on the door before them, watching for a reaction, hoping it would open. Despite the fact that she would not get very far before he stopped her, she lurched forward, crawling toward the door.

"Not so fast." He walked toward her and stepped over her body, slamming a heel down on her outstretched hand. She didn't cry out in pain because there wasn't any breath left for it. She took a few deep gulps of air as a result of the blow. Each time she inhaled felt like fire in her lungs. "You aren't going anywhere," he said after she stopped wheezing.

She sucked in another breath. It hurt just as much as before, but the sharp pains in her chest were beginning to fade into a dull ache. Rolling into a tight ball once again, she pulled her legs into her chest and waited for the punishment. It came swiftly and suddenly. Something connected with her face and she threw her head back to scream, throwing her hand over the spot just under her eye. The scream never left her throat. Instead it ended in a choked gasp. She clutched her face, moaning in pain. She lay in her small ball, begging for him to stop. For some reason, it never ended, never slowed, and never showed any sign of relenting. Around her, the world swam in and out of focus as flashes of bright white light filled her vision. She just wanted to know what she had done to deserve this kind of beating…

- - -

Eriol Hirigizawa could not figure out why he had left her inside that room. He could not figure out why he was breaking the promise he made to the girl he was almost positive he loved. He had to protect Sakura, for Tomoyo's sake and by Tomoyo's wishes. And at the moment, he was failing miserably. He almost turned around and burst back into the room. But it would do little good. He feared that he would create worse consequences for Sakura. Consequences that would come after he left, when he was unable to protect her. Sakura, the Mistress of the Clow was trapped in the room with a man who sent chills up his spine. And he was powerless to do a damned thing about it. The thought pained him physically, the hurt radiating out from his head and heart. He leaned back against the wall until he felt it thump against him. He clutched his head in his hands and combed them back through his hair. The motion flung sweat against the wall, creating dark spots on the cracked, already-stained paint.

He grunted and stretched out his senses, searching for the familiar warm tinge of Sakura's magic. He barely felt it, as it was buried deep within the girl. He felt it pulse for only a moment before it returned to normal. A slight sigh escaped his lips. Relief flooded through him as he sensed her presence. But the fact he could sense her did not comfort him. Neither did the growing feeling of dread settling in the pit of his stomach.

"At least she didn't banish it away." He began to pace, glancing nervously at his watch. He looked up as another wealthy-looking young man entered a room down the hall. A muffled squeak emerged from the door just before the door closed and Eriol immediately wanted to destroy that man's life, much as the men destroyed the lives of the girls trapped within these walls. He wanted to save one of them – any of them – from this heartless organization bearing the name of the 'Houses'.

"But I can't," he muttered to himself. "There are just too many of them… even if I take out one branch, others would fill their place." He placed his forehead into his palm, shaking his head in frustration. He felt the wall shake, instantly cringing, instantly clenching his fists upon the realization that he was powerless to do anything. Even Sakura, with her mighty resources to command could do nothing to aid the girls here. He knew because he had been treating their ailments for almost three weeks now. It only served to further his disgust toward the owners of places such as the one he was standing in at the moment.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, taking the time to regain his composure. "What am I doing?" He pounded his fist on the wall, hearing the noise reverberate through the hallway. A girl cried out from one of the rooms and he clenched his jaw in disgust. "I can't just leave her in there…"

He removed his forehead from where it was resting against the wall. Walking stealthily to the door, he pressed his ear against it. He couldn't hear anything on the other side of the wall. Stepping away, he felt relieved for a moment, until a feeling of dread settled in his stomach. _This isn't right… I should be able to hear something through this wood…_

His dark eyes narrowed as he reached for the doorknob. Turning it, he opened the door slightly, fully intent on asking the man what was taking so long – and what was going on inside the room. Instead, the end of a bloodcurdling scream instantly assaulted his eardrums and he clamped his hands over his ears. His body involuntarily jerked back, all but throwing him back into the hallway. He lost his balance, stumbling backward. The door would have closed – silencing the earsplitting nose – if his foot hadn't gotten jammed somewhere in between the doorframe and the door itself. Using his shoulder, he threw the door open and stumbled into the room. Two hands groped the floor in front of him to boost him back onto his feet. He regained his footing in time to press his hands over his ears again as another raw scream echoed through the halls. He looked wildly around the room until his gaze fell on the girl sprawled out in the corner and the man standing over her. And his heart skipped half-a-dozen beats.

"Stop!" he demanded. The volume of his voice was barely loud enough to be heard over her cries of pain…

- Post Fiction -

Yes, please don't kill me, because I will get her out of there! I just need more chapters before I actually get to that part. Expect Fallen Neo to work in arcs of anywhere from 10 to 12 chapters. That's how I planned it: more than 30 chapters in total. I look forward to the reader's response I'll be getting from this chapter. This should be interesting…

Will be writing again soon:

The one, the only _Ciuline Ihmenjo_


	8. Neo: Healing

Neo Fallen

Written by: Ciuline Ihmenjo

Card Captor Sakura does not belong to me. The characters in Card Captor Sakura do not belong to me. CLAMP owns CCS. Besides, even if you do try and sue me, I have no money.

- Pre Fiction -

After a catastrophic error that ended in the accidental deletion of all my work on chapters 8 and 9, I had to start over. There goes my Fallen Template and all the grammar checking I had done on the previous chapters. Oh how I hate slow computers that delete the wrong things first, right things second, and then proceed to freeze… so now I can't get back **any **of my work. It even killed my very limited story notes (just like with Fallen… much to my chagrin). I think that I'll be off to cry now. Well… maybe I'm not.

On a different note, those notes did a sketchy outline of Neo Fallen, so I still know where I'm going with this one. Hope you guys appreciate my tireless work. Either way, thank you for the reviews. I know you all want to kill Sentry about now, but I felt that his character needed to be hated more. But he will go away when he serves his purpose (and may come back though, but that's yet to be determined). He wasn't supposed to be as nice as I portrayed him in Fallen. This way, you guys have someone to hate other than me. On the other hand, chapter 8 is now gotten to the point where it is spiraling to the point where it was so long, that I had to **split** the think into two parts. So I find it rather amusing that I have more than 10 pages now when I started with the deletion of all my work.

I've cleared 70 reviews! I'm popular, not as much as most others, though. It's still a staggering amount of people who have typed (mostly) nice things to me. Shout outs to the following people for your reviews of chapter 7 (a whole 17 people the last time I checked!): Lain in the Wired; Dark Sephiroth1; Benjamin Lau; DakBug; armageddonangel, sexy-lil-thing-76, Sunnflower, Kurai Ai, pnaixrose, coke24cola, Scorpinac, eyesofheaven, SunMistress, LadyAkina, Hermione8522005, Blueyesangel1186, Helbaworshipper…

If you have any questions for me though, just include them in you review and I'll try and answer them.

_Italicized words_ are thoughts. **Bold words** are emphasis. CAPS WORDS are shouting.

- Neo Fallen: Healing -

"What are you doing?" Eriol's dark eyes blazed with barely contained fury. He stormed into the room, hands clenching into fists. The door slammed behind him, echoing within the confines of the room.

"I could ask you the same thing, boy," the man growled. He watched Eriol with curious eyes, almost daring him to do something rash.

Sentry looked down at Sakura's shuddering body. Her arms and legs were extended almost parallel to her body as if she had skidded to a stop. She looked completely limp, but at least her chest was rising and falling with shallow breaths. Both eyes were closed, a recent bruise forming on the right side of her face. A line of tears crossed her face, starting at the corner of one eye until it trailed off her cheek. Dust stuck to the mark, and it was the only way he could perceive it in the dim light. The shirt had slid over one shoulder, revealing the pale skin beneath it. And she was shivering. Her entire body quaked, inciting the dust surrounding her to take flight.

"I can't allow you to harm my patient." He glanced at Sakura. Her eyelids were fluttering and she was moaning something incoherent. He caught a few words about safety and hope and the word please multiple times, but the rest was lost in a jumble of babbled words.

"And I thought I told you to wait outside." Sentry lashed out, connecting solidly with the girl beneath him. His foot sank into her, tossing her body a few inches. She gasped, but fell silent. A crystalline pool shone in the sunlight as tears leaked through her closed lids. It slowly spread over the wood. Some of it was absorbed into the clothes she wore, some into her hair. The rest flowed steadily outward, sparkling in the dim light of the room.

"I came in to check on her," Eriol said as calmly as possible. His entire body shook with the effort to keep him from striking this man. "And now, I'm glad that I did. Any longer and I don't know what may have happened to her." His glance attempted to pierce Sentry's skull. "You could have killed her."

Sentry flashed him a smile that was full of teeth. "She woo you over, boy?" he sneered. "Did she promise you free favors?" He jabbed a finger in Eriol's direction and then shrugged. "I mean, she's not the type, but I'm sure that you're not defending her because she's just your patient. You shouldn't care if she gets broken." He hauled back and kicked Sakura's limp form. Eriol winced as her body rolled from the blow, sliding a few feet and leaving a streak in the dust. She remained silent throughout the ordeal. "After all, it is your job to **fix** her. The more you have to **fix**, the more compensation you receive."

"Broken?" Eriol managed to sputter though clenched teeth. "Fix her?"

"I assure you, though, that nothing is broken at the present moment. I wouldn't break anything on her. After all, when I break something, she decreases in value." Sentry shrugged. "It's as simple as that."

Eriol almost lunged across the room. One clenched fist twitched with the urge to slam into this arrogant bastard's face. "Value?" he roared. "Is that all that you can think about? You and your damned money?" He snorted, folding his arms over his chest. "Who died and left you…" his finger wavered accusingly toward Sentry. "Who left you in charge of deciding the value of a teenage girl's life?"

"As long as she works, she receives shelter, food, and water. I can't guarantee anything beyond that. After all, the money she and the others make funds these buildings as well as guarantees their safety. They just have to reach the quota." He looked down at the girl, shivering at his feet. Her eyes squeezed further shut and her arm twitched again, but she showed no further sign of motion. No further signs of consciousness. "So, yes, in this case it is about the money, doctor. And, since I see no omnipotent, omniscient being present… do you, doctor? No. So, that leaves me in charge of deciding the price of this girl. That leaves me in charge of her life."

"Price?" Eriol fumed. His finger shifted from its target until it was aimed at the door. He was barely able to keep the rage from exploding from his body. "Get out… get out this instant!"

"What if I refuse?" His gaze hardened.

Eriol only returned the glare with equal severity. He unfolded his arms, spreading them out from his chest. "You can find another doctor."

"Sounds good enough to me." Sentry shrugged. "Then, I guess your services are no longer needed in this establishment."

_Establishment? He makes this horrid place sound legit! _Eriol cringed inwardly… this was not the way it was supposed to go. "Any other man would expect much more pay and would not be so trusting of you."

"Corruption, my boy, exists everywhere, even in doctors. I suggest you leave so I can finish her punishment." Sentry picked Sakura up by her wrists, a rope grasped in his hand. He brought her hands over her head and bound her arms at the wrists. After this action, he dragged her over to the wall and hung her on a hook set in the wall. She let out a slight puff of air and sagged limply in her bonds. He stepped back a fair distance – measuring the length with his foot – before cocking his fist.

"Stop it!" he shouted, surging toward Sentry. He stopped when the man brought his fist within centimeters of the defenseless girl. Something shone in the dim light of the corner where Sakura had been placed. For the first time, Eriol could see that some of the red on the rags she wore was not, as he had thought, part of their previous design. Some of the ruby-colored liquid, pulled by gravity, had begun to run down her legs, off her ankles, and into a small puddle on the floor. "If you continue to do this too her, you may actually – as you put it – break her."

"Fine, have your little slut back." He picked her up off the hook by her collar. Sakura swayed limply in his grasp. Her bound arms flopped against her thighs and her legs were left to dangle with her feet dragging against the ground. He tossed her body through the air, the motion accompanied by a choking noise by the victim. Eriol rushed to catch her, wincing as she impacted with his body, slamming them both into the floor. Her landed on his rear, but Sakura was cradled in his arms. Sentry walked past him and out the door. "She was getting boring anyway," he added.

Eriol shuddered, dark eyes smoldering. Gently picking up the comatose girl, he cradled her body in his arms.

She stirred, but her eyes refused to open. "Sentry?" she moaned, shaking her head wildly so her long honey-brown locks whipped him across the face, "please… give me a chance… to do it right… stop… don't… one more chance?" The words were faint, barely distinguishable over the roaring sound of his breath and pounding of his heartbeat in his ears. He felt his sleeve dampen where her head rested against it. Glancing down, he saw that it was not blood but her tears, leaking out from the firm line made by her eyelids. Her hand weakly clutched at his shirt, gathering the material on his chest into a clump of crumpled folds. Eriol could feel a puddle of liquid spreading on his chest and immediately knew that it decidedly was not her tears. He could always wash the shirt later. She squeezed a little harder, as if to enforce his thoughts. The gesture almost said, _here I am… I'm okay…_ But he didn't trust her gesture for a minute, fully knowing the girl's attempts to make everything seem all right. He knew how hard she tried to keep everyone at peace. This time, he would not believe her words or motions.

"Are you okay?" he asked, not expecting an answer, though he already knew what it would be if she had given a response. He wasn't surprised at all when her mouth didn't move to form words. He set her gently down on the bed. Her grip tightened. The bunched material of his shirt only slipped through her fingers as he pulled himself away. Walking over to the sink, he took a moment to pick up one of the empty metal bowls on the floor. The other contained some sort of hardened rice pudding – he recognized it as the gruel served to the girls in this damned place. He groped around in his bag, nearly forgotten where it lay on the floor, but was unable to find a rag or cloth. He didn't want to rip her clothes any more than that already were. Even then, it would be entirely unsanitary with the knowledge he had of the Houses. One hand, seemingly on its own power, dove into his pocket and pulled out the object there. Holding the thing up to the light, the lavender kerchief shone in the rays of the sun. Eyes closed, he breathed a silent sigh, clutching the strip of lavender to his chest. _I wasn't able to keep her safe Daidouji-san… I'm sorry that I couldn't keep her safe._ He opened his eyes. Filling the bowl with warm water, he walked back to the bed. He set the bowl on the nightstand with a dull clink.

"No washcloths." He looked down at the flimsy scrap of purple cloth in his hand. "I guess you'll be happy to know it went to a good purpose Daidouji-san." He dipped the kerchief in the water and began to scrub the blood and dust from her body.

Her eyelids fluttered again, slowly opening to settle a bleary gaze on his face. She opened her mouth for a moment, but nothing came out. Her expression flashed puzzlement for a moment. Whether the expression was from his actions or her lack of speech, he could not tell. Eriol continued to clean her, dabbing at the bruise on her cheek. He slid the cloth down to wipe the blood away from her split lip.

She clutched his arm again, lifting her arm slowly to do so. "Please," she rasped, "stop."

"Does it hurt?" he asked.

She nodded and began to cough. She tried to smile at him, but winced when she opened her mouth. "It's not that bad."

"I don't believe you." He continued, not breaking a stride with his words, "Try not to move." _What in the hell is this man? How can someone have so little regard for human health and well being?_ He began to wipe away the dirt that had stuck to the lines of tears on her face. She gasped, swallowing audibly.

"Water?" she croaked, reaching her hands out toward him. They were still bound and he took care of the ropes with the scalpel. The blade took a minute to saw through the rough cord, dulled as it had become from its previous endeavors. When he released her arms, they fell to the bed. She gave a strangled cry of pain but quickly pursed her lips together, biting down on the lower part and somehow maneuvering around the split there.

"I'm afraid that I don't have any clean water." He looked around, but she spotted the bowl first. "No, wait… that's—"

But it was too late. Her hands seized the bowl, dragging it toward her with strength that he didn't think she still possessed. It fell with to the bed, bouncing once and ejecting its contents onto the sheets. She grimaced in frustration, but drank the small puddle of warm liquid still left in the bowl. She grimaced again, this time in offense to the difference of temperature.

"It's warm," she stated. This time her voice was much clearer. He could still detect a slight scratchy undertone to her words, but ignored it. She dropped the bowl, suddenly loosing her brief boost in strength. The metal object slid through her fingers. It rolled off the bed to clatter against the floor. An irritated frown marred her face. "That… wasn't supposed to… to happen."

"What was?" His hands traced her body until they came to her arms, still trying to find the source of the bleeding.

"Not that." She coughed, her throat obviously still paining her. The frown wavered for a moment. "Cold water. Need sleep." She closed her eyes, laying her head back on the mattress. The clock on the wall ticked a full minute before she spoke again. "That good enough?"

"Where are you hurt?" He held the cloth up to her face, the blood clearly visible in the light. "I need to stop the bleeding."

"NO!" she cried out with such fervor that it surprised him.

"You don't seem to understand…"

"I do." She nodded vigorously. "You don't… need to… need to see." She swallowed again, wincing as she did so. "I'm okay. It stops… the pain and bleeding… they stop."

"I do understand," he said. "And what I understand is that you need to be treated for all your wounds."

"Why?" He opened his mouth to speak, but she continued before he was able to get any words out. "So you'll be paid more?" Her biting tone left a dull ache in his chest.

_If I could only tell you who I am._ He reached up to brush her long bangs out of her eyes and slid the strands behind her ear, fully revealing a pair of piercing emerald orbs. And his hand encountered a damp warmth there. He drew his hand to his face and peered at it in the light. Sticky red fluid coated the side and back of each of his fingers. She knew something was wrong and began to moan softly.

"No… no… no…" she repeated the words over and over like a mantra, hoping it would persuade him to halt his motions. "Please don't." She paused. "I'm okay!" she piped up. Her voice was shaking. "Really, I'm okay."

"Roll over, please." He tried to push her, but she had somehow wedged her hands between the bars. Her fingers were curled around the small metal rods, white-knuckled and tightly gripping the black iron. In seconds, he could probably pry her fingers away from the bars, but those seconds would waste valuable time where he would have to convince her of his trustworthiness. He decided against it, unless it was needed as a last resort.

"No… no… no…"

"Please, I just need you to roll over." He reached over to gently try and pry her fingers away from the bars. "Just so I can check the injuries there."

"Th-there are n-no… no injuries." He pressed her back in the mattress and she squeezed her eyes shut. "Please," she whispered, "just trust me."

"I've heard those lines before," he said softly. "It's not going to work." He held the bloody palm before her. "You're still bleeding."

She thought about his words for a moment and took up her 'no' mantra once again. He slowly uncurled her fingers from the bars and then moved her hands to her side. She began to twist and writhe in his grasp, struggling to get loose. In one fluid motion, he rolled her onto her stomach. Her hands immediately went to protect the edges of her shirt.

Her entire back was red, and the navy skirt had begun to darken at many points around the waist as blood slowly seeped through her clothes and along the sheets. Pinching the cloth between his thumb and forefinger, he lifted the wet material from her back. She squealed out of both pain and surprise as a response to his action. He tried to lift the material from her, but her hands had enough of a grip on it to stop him. She shook her head again.

"Please don't." Her voice had gone below the volume of a whisper now. Her entire body was quivering, the whole bed shaking from the motion. "I'm okay," she repeated. He gently lifted the material away from her back and turned immediately away in disgust.

"What happened to you?" he breathed. Storming over to the sink, bowl clenched in his fist, he filled it with warm water once again. With that task finished, he returned to the bed and was surprised to find her still lying on her stomach.

"Don't do anything to him," she mumbled. "It's my fault that he does this."

"Who does what?" He began to lift the shirt over her head, but found her fingers interlacing with his own in an attempt to stop him. She looked up at him, twisting her body to do so. Her hands tried to pull his away from her body.

"Sentry… he beats me… you know?" The tears had never come. She gave him a sad half-smile and sat up, pushing her body upright with arms that did not want to listen to the commands coming from her brain.

"What in the hell merits this type of punishment?" Eriol asked in disbelief.

She stared into his eyes, uncertainty clouding her gaze. "I-I don't know." She hung her head. "You know, this is the fist real conversation I've had in months." She laughed softly, her expression brightening just a little. He returned the expression, but she shrunk away from him. "It's scary… I don't even know if my limbs remember what it's like to walk. I don't know if I even remember how to walk." She laughed nervously. "I mean, I just crawl mostly. They don't give me the chance to get up. Besides, I'm too weak to move any other way. I'm too weak to do anything."

He stopped her before she could continue. "You're not weak."

She looked up at him, the same sad smile gracing her face before slowly lifting her shirt. She turned around so her back was facing him. Peeling the fabric from her body where blood had adhered it to her skin, she began to remove the garment. She turned her head over her shoulder. "You will help me, right?"

"I'll do what I can." He turned away, flushing slightly.

"It's better than what they do." She looked surprised at the tone of her voice and shook her head. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

"I know." He walked back to his bag, making sure to keep his back to her while she finished stripping off her shirt. "You finished yet?" He rooted through his bag for nothing in particular, but came back with a few rolls of gauze and a roll of medical tape.

"Yeah." He turned around. She was lying on her stomach as if sunbathing. The light played over her back, highlighting the lingering scars and half-healed wounds that marred her skin. He poured the water over her back, letting the rivulets flow off her body. He shuddered with every glance at the wounds. It was becoming increasingly difficult to keep his eyes on her for the duration it took him to finish wrapping the soft cloth around her. He secured the white gauze with a few long strips of medical tape. She sighed slightly and rolled over.

"Better?" She nodded again, her mouth open with a silent thank you. He checked the class of his work and noted that her blood wasn't seeping through the cloth. A good sign if anything. He placed the remaining gauze and tape back into his bag. Taking a seat next to her on the bed, he watched as she rolled over and sat up, pulling the shirt back over her head.

"I have nothing to offer." She sniffled, pausing with the shirt still halfway down her face. Her mouth was covered, muffling her words. "You want your payment," she coughed, "right?" A few tears slid down her face as she lay back on the bed, arms stretched out over her head. He shook his head, even as he looked down on her. She had closed her eyes. "Do it quickly." She smiled softly and added, "Please?" She lowered her arms and slowly spread them out from her sides. "You've been nice to me. I won't forget that"

The realization slammed into him much like a bird into a glass widow. "I've already told you, I'm not here to hurt you. I won't do anything to you." He paused, reaching into the bowl and wringing out the kerchief. The water rolled off in bright red spurts, and he offered it to her with an extended arm. Her eyes had opened narrowly at the noise of the water dripping off the cloth. She observed him curiously. "I was told to give this to you."

"Give?" Her eyes lit up as she spoke. "As in, a present?" She reached out, timidly taking the object from his hand. Even as he nodded in response, she snatched the scrap of damp cloth to her chest. Her fear was that he would take it back, telling her it was all a joke. But those words never came and she hugged the object closer to herself, murmuring thank you over and over again. He regarded her strangely, but left her alone, instead walking to the door. He walked slowly over to the door, opening it and discussing something with Sentry that Sakura could hear, but not interpret. From the tones of their voices, they seemed to be in another heated argument. And then she saw it, the surreptitious exchange of money. Her entire form slumped, slowly backing into the corner. The door closed softly and she jumped.

"No," she cried out, "don't… don't come any closer!" _Though, what can I do if he does?_ She watched him close the distance between them and chewed nervously on her lower lip. Her eyes darted around the room. As he stepped up to the bed, she dove forward, propelling her body off the sheets and onto the floor. She landed with a sharp cry on her shoulder and tried to crawl away. He didn't go after her, only stood by the bed, utterly stunned by her behavior. He walked over to her and knelt in front of her. Her head thumped into his knee.

"I'm not here to hurt you."

"YOU ARE!" She looked up at him, tears already starting to flow from the emerald puddles. "YOU'RE JUST LIKE THE REST OF THEM!" she screamed. He lifted her – it was too easy – so her face was level with his own and helped her into a kneeling position. "Go away," she commanded. She swung, putting all her weight behind her fist. Even then, it seemed to move sluggishly, taking forever to cover the less-than-half-meter distance that separated them. He was able to easily block it, grasping her wrist in one hand. She swung again with equal results. He held her arms where he had blocked them and neither teen moved for a long moment.

"Will you at least listen to me?" She shook her head, glaring at him. Her lips were pursed into a thin line. "I just purchased you for 10 hours. Take the time to rest." He patted her on the head, tousling her hair. She squeezed her eyes shut. And then they shot open.

"You what?" she asked cautiously. She squirmed and he released her arms. He flashed her a slight smile.

"I can't buy your freedom, but this is the best I can do for now." He pulled out a leather wallet, holding it out to show her the empty pocket where bills would normally be kept. He mirrored her smile and quickly shoved the wallet back in his pocket. A few more steps took him to where his bag and coat lay draped across a table. "Just get some rest, you'll need it, right?"

_I haven't really gotten any sleep in the last month or so._ She looked up and nodded meekly, crawled away from him to curl into a small ball in the corner of the room.

"Good night," she whispered.

"Pleasant dreams," he said, tossing his coat over her body. It floated down, settling over the small lump she had curled into. A slight sigh of content emerged from her lips and she snuggled deeper into the warm fabric.

She opened one eye – almost to assure herself that he was still there – and then closed it. "Thank you," she said softly. By the time the words reached his ears, she had fallen asleep.

- Post Fiction -

Sorry for taking so long to get this out. I just couldn't decide where to stop… and ended up splitting chapter 8 into two separate chapters. That said, finally, a chapter without a cliffhanger… of course, the big one is in the next chapter. You just have to keep reading to find out what happens! The usual read and review rules apply!

See you next update: _Ciuline Ihmenjo_


	9. Neo: Falling

Neo Fallen

Written by: Ciuline Ihmenjo

Card Captor Sakura does not belong to me. The characters in Card Captor Sakura do not belong to me. CLAMP owns CCS. Besides, even if you do try and sue me, I have no money.

Pre Fiction -

I would first like to send my thanks to my alpha/beta reader, Brandon. He's been a great help in getting these out faster (though not fast enough 'cause I write too slowly). And if you guys catch any errors, I was obviously too fast in my second beta reading (where I actually go back through and make my own edits). And then after I finish a dozen or so chapters of a story, I usually go back and add things to it that I didn't think of at the time, or, that, when I tried to meet my deadline, I couldn't quite get out what I wanted to be. Well, anyhow, back to the usual fare.

As a precaution, I am warning all my readers beforehand. People will gripe about this chapter and it's contents. But I felt like I had to include it so I could account for something that arises later in the story line. Please forgive me for that, but I hope you, my readers, understand that.

With that said, thanks to the following people for your reviews: (although not as many as last time… maybe I should keep moaning about the lack of reviews and see if that helps me to get more of them). Rae Hiwatari; pnaixrose; Malystrix (possibly the longest review I've ever received); animeluver53; coke24cola; BaybMunki; Christie; Scorpinac; eyesofheaven; Helbaworshipper. I extend many thanks to those of you who have stuck with me this entire time, especially those of you who took the time to review my work!

Ah, to answer questions… the others will be answered in this chapter:

For Christie and animeluver53 and all those who asked… Eriol can't say his name to Sakura because the organization might be able to trace him back to where he lives, thereby targeting the people he cares about. Also if the Houses learn of his connection with Sakura, he may put her in more danger than she already is.

If you have any other questions for me (that won't cause me to reveal the plot)… just add them to your review and I'll try and answer them as soon as I can.

_Italicized words_ are thoughts. **Bold words** are emphasis. CAPS WORDS are shouting.

Neo Fallen: Falling -

Sakura was currently lying on the bed, trying to sneak in a moment of sleep. She felt as if she had not slept in days. This was not far from the truth, as she had not received a decent night's sleep in the last month. She groaned and tried to push herself into a sitting position. Light was streaming through the crack above the thick shutter that had been attached to the window, and that meant it was a new day. A new day meant she still had to do the same thing she had been doing for the past five and a half months.

The first thing she saw when she was able to clear the sleep from her eyes was the mirror. She still hadn't been able to break it, as much as she wanted to shatter the image of her body, she couldn't. She wanted to rid herself of the shame of having to see herself in such a state. She had all but given up on the skirt, turning the garment into whatever she could manage to cover the most of her body. A few well-placed knots gave her a feeling of decency, and she had applied the same treatment to her shirt. The ensemble resembled a two-piece swimsuit now and provided just as much warmth. She kept the kerchief tucked safely away, folded into a small square and between a layer of folds on her chest. She reached her arms up, bound as they were, and managed to brush against the neat little square with the heel of her palm. Even being able to touch the cloth gave her comfort for a reason she could not comprehend. And she still could not figure out to whom it belonged. That didn't matter. Someone had actually given her a gift instead of taking something from her. They stole her sanity, her freedom, her hope… every day she was in this place, she lost a little bit more of herself to the chipped paint and dry plaster walls. The men who used her stole her dreams and her soul. If she was unable to escape soon, she feared that she would become little more than an empty shell.

Nearly a month had passed since the doctor had came and left. She had felt wonderful for the next few days after he departed, able to bask in the afterglow of a wonderful day and the first night of actual sleep she had received in five months. Once of her customers or Sentry had peeled the bandages from her back. She didn't remember who had done it. Now she was beginning to feel the repercussions of that visit. Sentry had picked up the frequency of his beatings, chalking the sudden increase to her failure to generate money. She had redoubled her efforts, but he was still consistent with the frequency and cruelty of his punishments. So, she had nearly stopped trying because what she did made no difference in what she received.

Just like now. What she did to please this man were futile, useless efforts. Her pleas fell on deaf ears. It wasn't like someone actually listened to the pathetic cries for help. She took another deep breath, trying to roll over onto her stomach. At least then she could try and escape. Not that that did much good either.

She watched him with a curious but fearful expression. He had a different glimmer in his eyes than her other customers. The grin on his face was feral and his eyes sparkled with a happiness that she could not place. His smile widened as he lay eyes on her and she willed herself to be smaller. It didn't work, but it at least made her feel somewhat better. And suddenly she knew what frightened her so much about this man. It was his expression. His entire face said that he was the predator and she was the prey.

She scrambled backwards, pushing herself with her bound arms and legs. Fully realizing the futility of her actions, she didn't care. Anything to increase the distance between herself and this man. This angry man. She shut her eyes, cringing as he reached across the bed. His fist closed around the front of her shirt, and he dragged her body across the mattress. In seconds, she was in the middle of the mattress. Her bound legs flailed in desperation. She shook her head wildly, honey-colored locks whipping about her face where they didn't drag across the mattress.

"Why don't you come closer?" he asked. He sat on the edge of the bed, the mattress folding under his weight. He grabbed her bound wrists with one fist and dragged her toward him.

_Because everything about you repulses me…_ _Because I can't move and you scare me…Because I am little more than a fix for you…_ She wanted desperately to voice her current thoughts. Not trusting her brain to give her mouth a correct response, she kept her lips clamped shut.

"Your keeper told me you aren't mute, so respond."

She shook her head, lowering her eyes to the mattress. And then the first blow came. A stinging slap that echoed in the room. She cried out, but the noise emerged from her throat as a strangled croak. He smiled, satisfied with his handiwork and released her arms. She shrunk into the same ball – a programmed response now – to try and afford herself some protection. He only pushed her off the bed and onto the floor.

"Don't play games with me," he roared. "You're supposed to be obedient!"

_Maybe if you actually bothered to treat me with a little respect you bastard! Maybe if you treated me like I was actually human!_ She landed hard, her shoulder bouncing once off the ground, before landing sprawled out on the floor.

"Please," she murmured, "I didn't do anything." She looked up at him from where he towered over her body. "Why?" she asked, trying to make some sense out of his actions. He picked her up and carelessly tossed her back on the bed. She slammed into the wall, the front of her body pressing flat against the plaster along with her arms. A cloud of dust took to the air. She rolled off the wall and into the middle of the bed. Her bound limbs were extended before her and she could feel his presence from behind her. Her entire body was trembling. She was begging, the words spilling from her mouth in an unconscious babbling of nonsense. Something dribbled down her cheek. The tears had begun to fall. Not that they would do anything to deter this scum…

He laughed, grabbing her again. Once again, she flew through the air, this time, her back colliding with the wall just before her head slammed into it. Her back felt like it had been lit on fire, burning her body from just beneath her skin. Her teeth rattled and her whole head felt like it had been slammed against a rock. Of course, slamming into an unyielding wall was nearly the equivalent. She saw the floor approaching and managed to twist her body at the last second to avoid slamming her shoulder into the floor again. And then she collided solidly with the ground. Her back suddenly lit up with pain in countless spots other than the usual constant throbbing she felt from it. She closed her eyes, wishing for it to end. But she knew that it wouldn't. The look in his eyes told her that it wouldn't be over until he felt like he had broken her. And if breaking her mentally also meant that he would have to physically break her, then she would be in for a rough session.

"P-please," she repeated as loudly as possible, "stop... it… it hurts." She knew what pain was. Pain was a daily occurrence in this hell on earth. Pain was her existence. Physically and mentally, she would bear the scars of this ordeal for the rest of her life. But this pain wasn't like anything she had endured. It was without purpose. A punishment for doing something correctly. She closed her eyes and hoped for it to end.

"Shut up."

She squeezed her eyes shut even tighter and felt his foot connect solidly with her gut. It swept the wind from her lungs.

"Sentry?" She heard herself gasp the name in a tinny voice. It would reach her attacker's ears, but he would hear none of her voice, no matter what she said. He was beyond hearing her. The only thing existing in his universe would be the pain that he could inflict on her. His foot slammed into her body again. She didn't have enough air in her body to scream. The tears flowed faster and she sobbed louder.

_Do what you want… I matter little to your sick fantasies._ She heard the disembodied voice, recognizing it as her own. It sounded weak and strained.

Her entire body hurt. He was still kicking her, a malicious glint in his eyes. Beyond that initial glimmer was one of sheer joy. She gagged in disgust. Her arms were now in front of her. A thin streak of light fell into the room. There was hope – the light was proof of that fact, as little hope as there was possible, that she could do something to end this torment. She extended her arms fully before her and then bent her elbows. Her body slid forward the tiniest of inches, but her body had slid forward and that was the important thing: her body had actually moved. She began to wiggle forward. Her brain was trying to tell her that it was a bad idea, but she didn't hear it. She wouldn't hear it. Something horrible may happen to her if she continued her current course of action. She swept all such notions away. The only thoughts in her mind were the hope of escape and the irony of Sentry actually being her savior from her torture.

The heel of his foot ground into her hand again. The breath she had unconsciously been holding exploded from her body in a wordless scream. A foot connected with her body again. Tumbling through the air, she landed in a heap of suffering a few meters away from the door. She tried to reach it, hands outstretched before her in a pathetic attempt to touch the smooth wood before her. They didn't make it. She knew they wouldn't make it. His foot slammed into her twice more. Once and she flew across the room. The second time, her body sailed into another wall.

She rebounded with a slight puff of air and landed on her stomach, her arms slamming into the front of her body. Throwing her hands in front of her, she began her desperate crawl forward. The rope scraped against the ground as she made a few inches of progress. He was on her in seconds, grabbing the back of her shirt. She heard something tear and she clawed at the ground, flailing her feet in wild desperation.

"Please!" she cried out. "Please stop!" He turned her over and shook her violently. She could see the almost murderous glint in his eyes. Nothing would stop him now unless she could find some way to reach Sentry or she died. She slammed her arms into the side of his head only to watch them bounce off the man's forearms. She hung her head in at the hopelessness of the situation. He shook her body harder. She only shut her eyes, unable to do anything more. Obviously, she had angered or annoyed this monster further by trying to strike back at him.

He tossed her body toward another wall. There was only open air around her before she slammed into it, flakes of plaster and dust exploding off the wall. Light was shining around her as she opened her eyes. A small circle of yellow was illuminating the ground before her. A quick glance upward afforded her a blinding view of the brick wall outside her window. _Freedom is inches away from me, _she thought, _I just am unable to get there…_

He lifted her easily. She could feel the ground beneath her feet. It was cool and smooth, nothing like the rough surface near her bed. The air here smelled of freedom. _What does freedom smell like? _She sighed and took as deep a breath as she could. He lowered her body slightly and she felt herself sink almost to her knees, feet bumping against the boards that made up the floor.

He grabbed the back of her head, slamming her face into the closest object to him. Unfortunately for her, that object was the window. She felt it crack slightly under the force of the blow. A slight moan of pain escaped her lips and she redoubled her efforts to free herself from his grasp. Her shirt collar was threatening to cut off the vital oxygen that was trying to reach her lungs. She gasped wildly, bound hands thumping uselessly against his strong grasp. There was barely enough time for her to breathe and screaming was out of the question. Stars swam before her eyes as her head met the glass again. She could see a patch of red staining the glass in a red circle at the center of a small star of cracks. A flare of pain bloomed on her face from somewhere around her nose. A pattern of long lines was beginning to appear on the windowpane. Of course, at the moment, her brain was having trouble processing any sort of outside stimuli, fogged over as it was by the pain. The glass loomed closer and her face rebounded off it with a hollow thunk. Pain exploded in her brain, clouding over all other thoughts. Her only thought now was of survival. She moaned softly, trying to get this man's attention… any person's attention. And then her head met the glass again. Blood sprayed onto the glass and the crack began to elongate, spreading to the edge of the pane in places. She could feel blood dripping onto the floor. By some miracle he hadn't broken her nose. Blood was oozing from multiple places on her face where the skin had split.

"Help he…" she moaned. She spit, watching the spew of red droplets fly onto the wall and window.

"No one would help you, filth," he spat. His grip on her head tightened and he thrust her face forward once again.

Sakura was barely able to turn her head to the side before she felt the impact. Something shattered in the background, a faint tinkling in the back of her mind. Small pinpricks of pain had begun to emerge all over her face. Blackness was beginning to overcome her vision. Tears flowed down her cheeks, mingling with the blood that poured from the dozens of wounds on her head and body. The sound of the door slamming open reached her ears as a faint thud. She saw the ground rushing to meet her. Her thought process was crawling along like a dying snail, and it finally registered the fact she was falling. It was the last thought she had before everything was darkness.

o o o o

There was something sticky against the back of her head. It coated her hair and was slowly soaking into her clothes. Sakura's brain refused to identify the substance. Trying to lift her head, she quickly realized what a mistake the motion was. The room began to swim around her and she flopped back onto the floor. Her entire body felt limp. Someone was kneeling beside her body, blocking some of the light. She screamed, but no sound emerged from her mouth. Bringing her arms in front of her face, she clasped her hands together. Her entire body was trembling for some reason. She couldn't figure out that reason at the moment.

"N-n-no…" she moaned, "p-please, n-no more…"

"It's okay," the person said. She recognized the voice as one belonging to Sentry. "He's gone now."

"The quota?" she muttered. "D-did… did I m-make e-enough money?" Her voice still emerged as a dry croak and she stumbled over the words.

Sentry stayed quiet, placing a hand on her side. He muttered something under his breath, but she couldn't understand his words. Of course, she had barely been able to understand what he had been saying. But his tone sounded negative.

"P-p-please," she began to sputter, "br-bring him back in!" She tried to lift her body, arms trembling from the effort to raise her body even a single inch. "I-I-I'm okay!" she sobbed, "R-really, p-p-please Sentry, br-bring him back in." She looked up at him, tears filling her eyes. The droplets of water blurred her already hazy vision. Her hands went to her face in an attempt to rub her eyes. "Sentry, d-don't hurt me." She settled back on the ground and felt her cheek come to rest in the same stickiness that was coating her hair. A stickiness her brain was just beginning to recognize as blood. Her blood. Her gaze wandered up to his face.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he responded truthfully.

She didn't hear the words or they didn't register in her brain. "I tried… I really did! Did he pay you? Please Sentry… I can still go on. Did he pay you, Sentry?"

"You're in no damn condition to be serving customers much less even be speaking." He shook his head, palm to his forehead. Kneeling down, he plucked something off her face. She felt a sharp pain erupt in her scalp. A keep wail of pain emerged from her mouth. Sentry placed the object in the field of her vision, holding it between his thumb and index finger. "It's glass. There are dozens of tiny pieces of this stuff in your face and forehead." He brushed the hair out of her eyes with a thumb. "What the hell did he do to you?"

Oddly enough, she didn't seem to care. "Sentry," she gasped, "did he pay you?" She had been trying to crawl toward him – evident of the slight streak of blood that was on the floor. Unable to move any closer, she had finally just reached out and began to weakly clutch his pant leg.

"Of course not." He crossed his arms over his chest, tapping an impatient foot. "The ungrateful bastard…"

Her eyes widened and she tried to back away from him. Fear filled her eyes. "No," she cried out, "Sentry, I'm so sorry… please… please don't… Sentry… please don't… it hurts enough already…"

"What are you talking about?" He looked at her like she had just turned into a frog. Sighing and reaching over, he scooped the sobbing form into his arms. Her hair fell in a curtain over his forearms and she sobbed into his chest. Her bound hands clutched weakly at his shirt, her feet tapping the sides of his arm. Small wrinkles began to appear in the material as she gathered it into her hands. He made his way carefully to the bed, avoiding the glass. The entire way, he listened to her pleas. The words were broken by the occasional sniffle or choked sob, but other than that, her words flowed from her mouth like water from a tap.

She looked up at him from the bed, eyes wide with fear. "Sentry… it hurts," she moaned. Her body was halfway curled into a fetal position and she had ducked her head into her chest.

"I'm going to try and help you," he said.

Her response was to try and curl into a tighter ball. A spasm shot through her body and she uncurled slightly. Looking up again at him from where she lay, she watched him leave the room, the door shutting behind him.

"Why?" she whispered. "What did I do wrong?" She tried to bring her legs closer to her body, but the pain flared up again. Thinking better of it, she straightened her body out and watched the door with anxious eyes.

The door opened and shut again and he walked over to the bed. Upon thumping lightly into the mattress, he dumped an armful of bandages and bottles onto the bed. Holding a metal object in his hand, he carefully lowered it to her face. Her brain wasn't working quickly enough to identify it, and she automatically expected the worst. She began to thrash, trying to avoid his grasp. He placed a hand on her chest – ignoring her cry of protest and discomfort – and held her down, even and she jerked and struggled beneath his hand. Making shushing noises, he lowered the object to her face and jerked his hand away from her after a moment. One of the tiny pains on her face intensified before it blinked out of existence. Repeating the motion at least a dozen more times, he wiped his hand on his shirt and placed the object on the bed. A smear of rust now graced his chest. She peered at the object, examining it closely. A pair of tweezers lay across from her face. A pile of bloodstained glass fragments lay just beside the metal object.

Taking one of the bottles, he poured a generous amount onto a cloth and began to scrub at the blood on her face and in her hair. She cried out in pain and tried to bring her hands up to stop him. After a moment, he finished and began to wrap the soft white cloth around her head. She stopped moving, utterly stunned by his actions.

"What are you doing?" she whispered.

"What does it look like?" he snapped. She cringed, scrambling backwards, and he rolled his eyes. "Honestly, you are the jumpiest creature I've ever seen."

Her mouth opened to say something smart, but she only shook her head instead. "I'm not," she protested. He taped the end of the bandage to her head before settling back to admire his work. She watched him curiously, still trying to figure out when he would start to hit her, her body tense with the anticipation of the blow. Taking a moment to adjust her position, he rolled her onto her side. The cloth was in his hand again, rough on her skin, but cool in the air. She shivered from the sensation. He began to wrap the gauze around her leg and taped it down as well. Maneuvering her body into a sitting position, he lifted her shirt, cleaning the wounds there as well, and made a wrap around her middle. Smoothing her shirt down over the bandages, he capped the bottle. She sighed and flopped back on the bed.

"You're being unusually nice," she commented, placing her bound hands in her lap.

"Don't expect it very often," he muttered. He swept the bandages and assorted bottles into a black bag and closed it.

"I-I like it," she murmured.

He slapped her. "Don't grow to expect me to be nice to you." She blinked a few times as he dug in his pocket for something. Pulling her toward him by her wrists, he produced a knife and cut away the ropes. Jamming his hand into his pocket again, he took out a cuff and chain. These he attached to the bed. The cuff was attached to her ankle. She was too stunned to do anything in objection to his actions. He turned on his heel, storming out of the room. He was mumbling something about customers and ignorance. Upon reaching the door, he turned around. "You have the next day off due to policy. Enjoy it, you won't get it too often."

"But what about the…?" she began, but was cut off when he slammed the door shut. The sound echoed in the room. "Thank you," she whispered, speaking to no one in particular. A draft in the room made her shiver and she wrapped her arms around her body. After a few moments, the door opened again to permit the small girl to enter with a tray of food. She gasped when she saw Sakura and the tray almost clattered to the ground. The girl approached meekly, practically threw the tray on the mattress, and fled from the room.

"Thank you," she murmured and snuggled into the mattress. Tucking her newly freed arms under her head, she closed her eyes, but not before looking at the jagged hole in the window. She smiled to herself, wondering how long it would take Sentry to cover the window. It was tempting to scream, but she knew he would find out about it. Then he would change her room. Now that she had a means to escape her hell, she couldn't move rooms or let such an opportunity to escape. With these thoughts in her head, it took her only a few minutes to fall asleep. Her dreams were of freedom that night.

o o o o

It had been a month since she had almost died. Her wounds had faded to scars, and even some of those scars had begun to fade. But the pain was still there. The pain was always there. A constant reminder of her daily mental and physical anguish.

She lay on the sheets, feeling the rough texture beneath her with her fingertips. Her last customer had just left, leaving her limp on the bed before tossing his clothes on. She groaned softly, staring at the ceiling with half-lidded eyes. She rolled over after a few minutes, grimacing as a whole new set of aches and pains screamed at her. Sentry hadn't bound her in almost a month… ever since the incident. It had started with her legs and then her arms. She guessed he almost blamed himself for her injuries. The lack of the presence of the ropes didn't matter, though. She barely had the energy to put up the feeble resistance toward her customers. In the end, she could only lay under them, trying to remain numb to the mental anguish. Trying to wash away the pain with her tears.

Crawling toward the edge of the bed, she lowered herself as gracefully as possible. Her body still ended up in a tangled heap of arms and legs as she lost her grip on the sheets. They slid down to coat her body in a cloth mixture of rust and cream coloring.

Time was short. Sentry had gone out for lunch, probably so that he could purchase a new panel of glass to replace the one her head had slammed through. From what she could determine, the man had a thirty-minute break each day. That meant she had thirty minutes to drag herself over to her literal window of opportunity. Of course, she had created that window when her head gone through it. But it didn't matter. The shattered glass was now her means of escape. It was a means that she would have to utilize before Sentry repaired it. She would have to make it over there in thirty minutes. A quick glance at the clock told her she only had twenty-eight now. She pulled her body from under the sheet and began to crawl toward the glass shards that still littered the floor. Keeping a mental timer of her progress, she judged that it took her about fifteen minutes to drag herself against the wall and over the scattered fragments that littered the floor. _Thirteen to go…_

She pulled her legs underneath her body and managed to get a grip on the windowsill. Something sliced against the tips of her fingers and she cried out sharply. She knew that a thick wood shutter would have to be removed. It was an easy enough task if she could reach the simple hook-and-eye latch that held it closed. But the wood blocked most of the sound coming from the room. It also blocked her means of escape. If she could not reach the latch, then her efforts would be as pointless as her daily struggles.

Something trickled down her arm, sending a shiver to traverse her spine. Immediately, she knew it was blood. She blinked, wondering where it had come from. She looked up at the faint stream of light fighting to break through the cracks in the wood. Tiny red droplets were trickling down her arm, starting from where her fingers were grasped around the windowsill. She grimaced and slammed her other arm up in the air, trying to keep her hands on the thin plank of wood extending from the edge of the window.

"Come on," she muttered, "cooperate damn it." There was a sudden feeling of rough wood under her fingertips and she smiled, breathing a silent thanks to whatever being was watching her. Her body was still weak, and she knew that she would still have a hard time dragging herself onto her feet in her current condition. But, she knew she had to. She couldn't give up. _Seven minutes left…_

A quick tug told her exactly how hard her task would be. Her arms burned and she felt tears running down the sides of her face. She almost released the windowsill that she could barely even hold onto. Her arms still burned though. And her grip was still slipping. Another pull took her body another inch into the air. She could see the latch and see the blood that was beginning to pool at her feet. Her foot slipped and she felt her body slide. Her grip tightened and she saw the blood flow increase. A sudden pain shot through her arms, latching onto her brain and increasing her sense of urgency. She took a quick glance at the clock. _Four minutes left…_

She kicked at the floor, pulling with all her strength. Somehow, she managed to get her legs straight so her arms were resting on the windowsill. She saw her fingers, curled around a piece of broken glass that was still on the sill. Rolling her eyes, she slapped a hand against the latch a few times, releasing a cry of joy when the tiny bend of metal popped free of the eyehook. The greenish shutter creaked open, affording her a view of the alleyway below the window. She looked down, swallowing the lump that had lodged its way in her throat. Her weight was heavy on her arms, her legs ramrod straight in order to support her trembling frame. _I have two minutes… I **must** get out of here…_

She put one hand on the glass, feeling the blood flow increase. The edge cut into her hand and she felt it give a little under her weight. She jerked backwards, feeling it pop free of the glue adhering it on the window frame. It shattered into tiny fragments and clattered against the floor. Some of them stung her lower legs, others imbedded themselves in her palm. She slipped again in the puddle of her own blood, using the backward momentum to try and scramble up the wall. By some miracle, she was able to get one foot on the windowsill, some of the glass that lay there imbedding itself in the soft flesh of the arch of her foot. Her left leg dangled behind her, swaying slightly. For some reason, she could not find the strength to pull it up to join its twin. And then the door creaked open behind her, and she knew she was out of time.

"What are you doing?" Sentry commanded. A large glass pane with a cardboard border was held under his right arm, a bag of something delicious-smelling clutched in his left. Her mouth watered for a moment. She quickly dismissed the though from her mind, bringing all her available energy back to the task at hand. For the next minute both stayed frozen in place, unsure of how to move, completely stunned at the scene before their eyes. She started out at the wall before her, feeling the sunlight that symbolized her freedom warming her face and body. The giant yellow and orange sphere burned her eyes, blazing into her skull. It was the most beautiful thing she could remember seeing in a long time, and she welcomed its warmth with half-lidded eyes. She looked back, letting her vision adjust to the dim light of the room. Sentry was still glaring at her, eyes piercing her body. She knew now that she had to escape… or die trying.

_What does it look like…_ she wanted to say. The sarcastic gibe was on the tip of her tongue, urging her to let it free and spit it into Sentry's face. "Escaping," she stated finally in a plain and simplistic tone. She gave him a sad smile. "I can finally be free." She was crying, and she didn't even know why. Maybe it was because she was afraid of dying. But, anything was better that this place to her. Death meant she could finally be free of the endless cycle of pain and suffering that her body was forced to endure. Even as he was advancing, she was scrambling with the effort to pull herself up onto the ledge. Her leg thumped uselessly against the wall. She felt it slide against the blood that had dripped onto the pain and she began to whimper as she heard his footsteps grow closer. And her leg thumped uselessly against the wall. He smiled at her, lips curled in a feral grin.

"Why don't you come down from there?" he asked. His voice echoed in the room as she shook her head. "You'll get hurt."

"You'd hurt me even worse," she growled. Her body was finally beginning to make its way slowly up the wall. She felt a silent cry of relief course through her veins. Her knee continued to tap noisily against the wall.

"You won't get away," he said softly. "You know that, don't you?"

"I don't care!" she cried out. "I don't care anymore!" Her face was inching closer and closer to the top of the window. She could feel the breeze on her cheek as it flowed through the cracks and hole in the glass. The cold air dried the tears that were streaming down her face. Her cheeks flushed with the anticipation of the freedom, the promise of freedom that the wind brought with it. Her brain screamed at her. The sudden feeling of adrenaline coursed through her body and she jerked her body onto the narrow ledge. An opening just large enough for her body to squeeze through loomed ahead of her. The sound of footsteps behind her came to an abrupt halt.

Her fist slammed into the glass three times, each time creating a network of tiny cracks that burst outward with the final blow. The sound reverberated in the silent room, exploding like a gunshot. Her hand came back bloody. She wiped it on the front of her shirt. She swallowed audibly and gave him a little half-smile.

They both knew that it would be too late for him to reach her. He knew she would die just as she was willing to accept the end of her life. He knew she would leap from that window. "You'll kill yourself!" he shouted.

"You've killed me a little each day," she whispered. "Besides, death is better than anything this place has offered me."

Glass shattered from somewhere behind her. Her brain faintly registered it as the windowpane that Sentry had been holding in his hand. His body was surging forward, hand outstretched in a hopeless attempt to grab her.

She smiled and was already tipping forward, pushing off the window with one bloodied hand. Open air surrounded her. A brief feeling of weightlessness was the only warning she received before the world fell out from beneath her. Pain sparked from her stomach and she cried out. Her hands flew to her abdomen only to touch something protruding from her body. It felt like glass. Blackness was beginning to creep into the sides of her vision as wave after wave of pain slammed into her. She coughed, watching red fly curiously from her mouth.

The thought that she really would die finally slammed home. She knew she was crying. She could see the trail of clear orbs starting a few inches above her face. She tried to smile, tried to move, tried to do something. Her body was failing her.

Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. She heard Sentry crash into the wall. Saw the remaining glass on the window vibrating. Some of the shards flew out toward her, falling with her. But no noise was emitted from the action. The sound seemed to take forever to reach her ears. But she heard it, a faint noise that she could barely perceive over the sound of her heartbeat and breath roaring in her ears. Sentry was leaning out the window, watching her with a horrified expression.

Then she was plummeting to the ground, hundreds of tiny ruby orbs following her decent.

Post Fiction -

Sakura might be out of the Houses, but at what cost? Once again, I have ended a chapter with yet another cliffhanger that will – this time – surely leave my readers screaming a large and diverse number of obscenities at me. Well, I can't change that; you guys are who you are. Just, don't start burning effigies of me or anything of that sort.The author does not appreciate images of himself being burned. Ah, I can feel the flames already…

See you next update: _Ciuline Ihmenjo_


	10. Neo: Descry

Neo Fallen

Written by: Ciuline Ihmenjo

Card Captor Sakura does not belong to me. The characters in Card Captor Sakura do not belong to me. CLAMP owns CCS. Besides, even if you do try and sue me, I have no money.

Pre Fiction -

Okay, before I begin, I would like to say sorry for that last chapter if you did not like it, and no, I do not have a sick mind. What I do have is an overly active imagination that allows me to get beneath the nitty-gritty and get down to what I want to actually write. Those of you who continue to read, thank you for staying with me. I am going to keep this introduction short as you probably are dying to know what happened. After all, I'm not going to suddenly cut off with such a cruel cliffhanger. Also, I need to add that this chapter begins the second arc of Fallen Neo. So, please bear with my little quirks and my sketchy updating schedule. Schoolwork and fiction writing don't always balance too well. Secondly, I will be REUPDATING THIS CHAPTER IN THE NEAR FUTURE! I found a few things that didn't quite flow right, so please bear with me. I should have that version of the chapter up by noon tomorrow!

Thanks to you guys, 'cause I finally cleared 100 reviews. In the meantime, thanks to the following people for your reviews of chapter 9: Death Bringer the Angel; Dakbug; ima-bad-person, Sunnflower; Rena Moon; animeluver53; lil chipmunk; HEX; sexylilthing; Scorpinac; coca24cola; eyesofheaven; Helbaworshipper; pniaxrose; armageddonangel; Bayb-Munki; and HotBabe9632005

If you have any questions for me, please just add them to your review and I'll try and answer them as soon as I can. And remember: **the author appreciates long reviews!**

_Italicized words_ are thoughts. **Bold words** are emphasis. CAPS WORDS are shouting.

Neo Fallen: Descry

When she was finally able to look up, there was blue above her. Not white paint peeling on plaster walls or a panting man supporting her body, crystal clear blue. She figured she was dreaming again. She had to be dreaming. The fact was that blue did not exist in her actual life. Her dreams were usually good and freedom usually followed that crystal blue sky. There was little way, in her mind, that she could be free from the grasp of the Houses. Her body was theirs; it had been theirs for more than six months. In those six months, she had given up nearly all hope of ever being free. And then the past burst forth from her memory. She remembered dragging her body to the window and then onto the narrow windowsill protruding from the wall. She remembered Sentry surging forward and then falling. After that, her memory failed her.

Seconds later, the pain slammed into her like a tidal wave, washing away any feeling of pleasure and swirling everything in her mind into a whirlpool of thoughts. It was a blinding white-hot sheet of agony that stripped the breath from her already burning lungs. Her eyes rolled back into her head, and she almost lost consciousness. Shutting her eyes briefly, she tried to control her breathing and shove the pain into the back of her mind.

Her ears registered sound from a window about four stories above her. Her brain recognized it as the same window she had fallen from. The first voice made her glad that she could not find the breath to scream. It made her glad that her body was paralyzed from the sheer pain from the fall. The entire time, her heart was pounding in her throat. She tried to swallow it, but it would not go down. She couldn't shove those fears away; they refused to leave her.

"Damn…" Sentry said. She heard a loud noise and glass tinkled down around her. Small shards nipped tiny spots of pain on her bare skin.

"Is she dead?" She didn't recognize this voice.

"What do you think?" Sentry's words echoed off the brick. "She fell at least four stories and landed head-first in a dumpster." His tone turned sarcastic, "Is she dead…" he chuckled and silence pervaded the atmosphere.

"So, we'll get a replacement for her then?"

"As much trouble as it will be, yes, I guess I'll have to find another one." Something crashed in the room and she felt her body cringe out of reflex. "It's a shame, she brought in quite a lot of money."

_Money?_ she thought, _is that all that I am to them?_ She felt something beneath her shift slightly, sending her body tumbling into a green wall. Her head rang against it with a metallic clang and all was silent again. The only thing she could see was a world surrounded by a ring of fuzzy blackness and the green and rust coloring of the wall before her.

"So, what will we tell the boss? Another suicide?"

"Yeah, just get a garbage bag or something and stuff it with some pillows and a few weights of some sort. That should do for a body."

"Pillows and weights?" She heard someone swallow over the persistent ringing in her ears. "Why?"

"You want to go down there in broad daylight, grab a dead girl from a dumpster, and then drag her up five flights of stairs?" Another crash. "You moron! What if someone saw you? You could invariably expose the entire operation if someone called the cops!"

"Yeah… uh… pillows and weights… right."

"Oh, toss her sheets into the bag too, she won't be needing them anymore."

"Right…"

The shutters slammed closed, the sound bouncing off the brick like a gunshot. Sakura jumped at the sudden noise. And silence filled the air once again as both men went about their daily business.

She tried to sit up, but moving anything hurt too much. Her head throbbed from where she had hit it against the dumpster. One of her legs wasn't responding to anything that she wanted it to do. She couldn't tell which one over the fog that seemed to have settled inside her skull. Her arms hurt whenever she moved them. And then there was that pain radiating from the center of her stomach. Her hand twitched, this time without substantial pain. _It's a start._ She moved her arm slowly, inching toward the center of the wet spot where her shirt was pinned to her chest by some unknown. Finally she felt her hand come in contact with the object. It was cold and slick to the touch. Focusing her bleary-eyed stare on the object over the small hill of her breasts, she made it out to be a large shard of glass. Her hand was weakly wrapped around it, rivulets of blood streaming from the points that her fingers came in contact with it. She tugged gently on it and felt her hand slide off the object. A new wave of pain flashed into her mind. Her hand suddenly felt warmer. Stifling a sharp cry, she wrapped her hand in the only thing she could find: one lavender kerchief. Her body gave up with a defeated sigh and she looked up through the rift in the black plastic that surrounded her.

She finally took a moment to survey her surroundings. The entire area stunk of slowly decaying food. Her head was resting against something rather pointy. Shifting slightly, she managed to locate a slightly more comfortable position. She could feel a large block of tied newspapers where her left foot rested. Try as she might move her leg, the limb wouldn't budge. It was just as paralyzed as her left arm was. She finally gave up that exertion as well to the hopelessness of the situation.

"Right leg twitching… left not moving, may be broken. Right arm okay… left seems injured. Can't move it. My wrist hurts… my hand more… my head is spinning." Her words were slow and deliberate, each syllable escaping her body on a wisp of air. She let a smile grace her grime-streaked face. "But I'm free." She shut her eyes, sinking back against the garbage bags that had diminished the force of her fall.

Something from inside her body seemed to tingle as she began to drift off to sleep, the daylight still shining on her face as clouds began to move in.

The first two people to notice the sudden presence was a boy and girl in China.

He jerked in his seat, his entire body abruptly snapping to rigidity. The gaze that was once focused on the school assignment before him was now staring rather blankly out the window. A cup of tea was clutched white-knuckled in his hand. He was mumbling something under his breath.

"Are you okay?" she asked, observing the strange disposition that had taken hold of him with a curious expression. A clatter followed her words as she watched the cup he held clasped between his hands drop to the desk. And then she stiffened, feeling the odd sensation as well. She narrowed her eyes. A calm expression settled over her face. Her mouth formed into a round circle for a moment. "Oh… I see…"

"Sakura?" he asked cautiously. The pencil slid from his grasp to roll alongside the cup toward the edge. She could only stare, transfixed by the surge of power that flowed through her veins. No doubt existed in her mind that he was feeling it as well.

"What's happening?" The words emerged from his mouth almost in silence. He was still sitting at the desk, the cup of spilled tea rolling toward the floor. It fell finally, bouncing with a wet splat on the carpet before settling beside the pencil. The noise snapped her out of her trance. But he didn't care; nothing else mattered at the moment. Her voice was calling out to him for the first time in months, weak and coarse, but still the melodiously sweet sound of her voice. He managed to rise from his chair, stumbling forward a few inches before collapsing to his knees. One hand supported his weight. The other gripped the chair weekly. The carpet seemed to be rushing toward him. A startled cry echoed from inside the room and the sound of heavy footfalls on the carpet reached his ears. He knew she wouldn't reach him in time. Then his world went black.

The third person was watching her exploits on a television screen. The fourth was standing behind her with a pair of comforting hands on her shoulders.

"You felt it too?" she whispered. Two hands, jolted out of her lap, went to her shoulder to clutch the pair that was just moving from her body. She squeezed his hands softly while looking up, tears springing to her eyes. The first few droplets trickled down her cheek. She released him – arms flopping against the flower print on her couch – and stared into her lap.

"I didn't screw up, did I?" The girl paused. "She is safe, right?" Her knees were at her chest now, two feet propped up on the edge of the sofa. Two arms were wrapped securely around her legs, hugging them to her chest. She finally rested her head on her knees, the world turning sideways. Her long hair draped over her body, covering it in an ashen curtain. "Please tell me she's alright."

He raised a finger, pointing in the direction of the other two figures in the room. "Stay with her," he said sharply. He was already at the door, coat in his hand. One arm was halfway through the sleeve. His shoes were in the other hand. "That's what I'm going to find out. She's weak, that's not a good sign. Her magic is almost fluxing, like she can't control it." His coat was on in seconds as he rushed out the door.

He paused to flash her a brief, but worried smile. "I'll find her."

The last people who noticed it were the one who helped to raise her and the one who guarded her.

"Hey, you feel that?" He dropped his pencil watching it with only half-interest as it rolled to the edge of the desk and plummeted to the ground. Rising halfway from his seat, he began to shut textbooks and pile papers in neat stacks.

"She's hurt." The second looked up from his book and the sandwich he was eating. His bright eyes narrowed and shut as he stretched out his senses. "My other self says that she needs help quickly."

"I know." There was the sound of cracking knuckles he rose from the chair. "I was powerless to find her, maybe I can at least give those who took her the things that they deserve." The door opened slowly to release one from the small room, the other trailing only seconds behind. Both had their coats in hand. One fumbled for his keys while the other darted toward the stairwell.

But they all could sense that the girl they knew and loved would return to them at last…

Something woke her from her unconsciousness or slumber. It was impossible for her at the moment to distinguish between the two. Her body felt like it was on fire. If she were any hotter, she suspected that she would melt a hole in her plastic floor. Her brain had not yet registered the dramatic increase in temperature as a fever, or the chills that racked her body as signs that her weakened immune system had failed her. Some sickness was wreaking havoc with her body systems. Coughs sent her body into a fit of spasms and she tried to claw her way out of the plastic and metal prison.

She blinked slowly before fully opening her eyes. Another droplet of water splashed down onto her cheek. It ran down her face, almost like a teardrop, and onto the plastic bag beneath her. Struggling to keep her eyes open, she raised her gaze toward the sky. It was dark, thick clouds spread over the once blue sky. Large drops of rain poured down on her, soaking her completely and pinging off the inside of the open dumpster. She moaned softly, feeling cool puddles forming in pockets of black plastic all around her body. Powerless to free herself, powerless to move, she could only sit and watch as the sky opened up, pouring down its gift from the heavens.

She opened her mouth, feeling a few droplets trickle down her throat, momentarily relieving the persistent dryness that had built up there. She didn't know how long she had been asleep or unconscious. Her stomach told her that a while had passed. The blood was running of her shirt. The blood that had seeped from her stomach had finally slowed to a trickle before stopping completely. It was a good sign as much as it was a bad one. The deep red that had seeped from her body had stolen her energy with it. She was now weak. She was too weak to even shout if someone came by. Her eyelids barely stayed open. Death was something she was willing to face, but the feeling of loneliness that had settled over her was almost too much to bear.

Delirium was beginning to set in. She could see people surrounding her. They weren't real, the sober part of her brain was telling her this. The ghosts of death had finally come to claim her. She wouldn't let them, refusing to give up the fight even as her body was loosing. And suddenly, a figure appeared before her, its features startlingly clear in comparison with the ghastly forms that surrounded it. He reached one hand out, as if trying to help her up.

"Stop tormenting me," she murmured to the air. "You can't be here." She closed her eyes for a moment and he disappeared. "Please… someone help…" she whispered, letting her words be carried by the breeze.

Sleep was beginning to cloud her brain. It wasn't a need to sleep, but a desperate yearning to slip away from the world. Promising to shut her eyes for only a moment, she rested her head against the bag behind her in the most comfortable position and began to drift away.

The sun had set by the time Eriol found her. A ceiling of thick, dark clouds obscured its motions. He had skidded to a stop just beyond the alleyway. His breath came in little huffs, trying to keep pace with the quick working of his legs. The hood of his coat had flown off, exposing his head to the fury of the rain. It drenched him fully, dripping down locks of blue-black hair to saturate his clothes as well. He had originally bypassed the alleyway. Only after feeling the intensity of the aura from this area did he pause to take a look inside the darkness. The alley was strewn with trash; broken glass littered the ground. He surveyed the objects and poked through a few of the piles of old clothes and heaps of trash. A cat leapt from one of the piles, but nothing else happened.

It was then that he heard a low noise. An almost silent moan, echoing off the walls of the alley. He listened for it again, trying to pinpoint the location from which the sound was coming. He couldn't find it. He looked around him again, eyes finally settling on the series of dumpsters against the wall. He scrambled over the first one. Dragging a crate behind him, he used it to peer over the rim of green box. No one was inside, so he dragged his crate to the next one, peering into the darkness of the dumpster.

She was nestled, a shivering mess, in the far corner. One arm was draped across her body, the other extended at a stiff angle. Her legs were buried under the weight of two of the garbage bags. He almost jumped in to help her, but fumbled for the cell phone that Daidouji had given him. He flipped the purple top open and hastily dialed her number. She responded immediately.

"Did you find her?" she cried out into the receiver. She had the phone clutched in her hands, her ear jammed into the earpiece.

He wracked his brain for a way to say it until her nearly panicked voice interrupted him.

"Are we too late? Is she okay? Is she even there? CAN I TALK TO HER?" Her words emerged as a jumble that he was barely able to decipher.

"She's alive," a sigh of relief, "but I don't know for how much longer. She's in a dumpster and looks pretty beat up. I need the emergency information for this area so I can call for help."

"Where are you?" she rushed. "I can call, you just try and keep her stable."

Eriol looked around, trying to find a distinguishing feature. "Uh, I'm not quite sure where exactly I am, I just followed to where her aura lead me." Tomoyo rattled off a number, even before he had finished talking. "Can you repeat that?" She did, and he shielded his arm so he could scribble the number on his palm. He hung up on her and dialed, hoping they would arrive in time to save Sakura.

Post Fiction -

This is a short chapter, really only serving as one of my little bridge chapters to the actually Arc Two of Fallen Neo. I wrote this quickly without a real beta check on it, so please forgive my errors. But, I do hope you can enjoy this small step to the bigger jump of the next Arc. By the way, Arc one is tentatively titled "Taken," while arc two begins with "Recovery"

See you next update: _Ciuline Ihmenjo_


	11. Neo: Recovered

Neo Fallen

Written by: Ciuline Ihmenjo

Card Captor Sakura does not belong to me. The characters in Card Captor Sakura do not belong to me. CLAMP owns CCS. Besides, even if you do try and sue me, I have no money.

_( Pre Fiction )_

I am going to start this off with a rant. This is a rant because one "bad" reviewer will cause me to get frustrated, and thus take it out on my "good" readers (and I'm sorry to those "good" readers for having to hear this). It's kind of hard to really label a good/bad reader. To my readers… I do put a lot of thought into my chapters and my stories. I especially put a lot of thought into my stories, which is why I don't update once a week or every week and a half. I put time and effort into each and every chapter to make sure that things work the way that they are supposed to and my stuff works out correctly. I usually do accept criticism with open arms, but I don't appreciate it when people say things about my story that is openly explained in the summary (like the question "where is the romance?"). Basically it boils down to courtesy. If you have something to say about what you don't like about Fallen, please put it in the form of constructive criticism or a simple "I was just wondering why you…" or some kind of question like that. Sorry about that, I got a little carried away, but I would like to say thank you to the people who take time to read these things instead of skipping them over as worthless dialogue.

Now, I dedicate space and time solely for the purpose of answering the questions that I was posed in regards to this chapter and some of the story. Oh yeah, and for those of you wondering, Ciuline Ihmenjo is a guy. If you didn't already know, you can go ahead and gasp now.

1) Descry (verb): To catch sight of; discern

2) Melin is descended from a magical background. She can't sense small things or even relatively large magic sources, but Sakura is no ordinary conduit of magical energy. After being cooped up for that long, her magic is bound to touch any person close to her what-so-ever who has any magical blood what-so-ever. And, after all, Melin and Sakura actually developed a friendship of sorts.

3) Sentry isn't a bad "villain." He is more concerned about the health of the Houses that whether or not Sakura is dead. After all, you kill someone by shoving them out a window and then go out and fetch their body from the dumpster that they plummeted into. It won't be too fun. First, you would have to climb into the thing and toss said person over the side. Second, you would have to get out of the dumpster. Third, you would have to drag the person from the alleyway, out into public, and into the building. Fourth, you would have to find a place to conceal said body. Easy, right? Not really.

4) To all of you saying "Syaoran should be in Japan…" and things like that. Think about it, he's in China because of his duties to the Li clan. It is very hard for him to up and leave to Japan. I think I actually had Meilin drag him over to Tomoeda in the first Fallen after a call from Tomoyo. So, yes, Syaoran will get is lazy rear end over to Tomoeda, but think of one thing, a girl you think loves you ignores you for somewhere around 8 months where you don't hear anything from her or about her. (After all, everyone is too busy running around and trying to figure out where Sakura is to notify poor Syaoran.) Wouldn't you begin to get a little insecure about finding her?

5) Romance comes later. It is depressing because it is angst. If you don't like that… I don't know what to say. I'm at a loss of words here (that's a first for me, so congratulate yourself). If you do like the story regardless of it's content, please continue to read. I promise that things will look up… eventually!

Good old Meilin… please read Twin Strangers for more of my writing (that I actually view as good)! Note: that part was only shameless advertising that I don't expect you to follow :P But, please try and read it. I liked that story just as much as I like this one!

Ah yeah, the reason this has been so long in coming? I got writer's block. Baaaad. So, in that sense, sorry that I have taken so long to update!

Over 110 of you have reviewed. That makes me so happy. Although I do find it strange that I get all the reviews within the first five or so-odd days after I post and then they just… stop. Anywho, thanks to the following people for your reviews: armageddonangel, hex, Helbaworshipper, Death Bringer the Angel, eyesofheaven, xSweEtPanDaBOOx, HotBabe9632005, Scorpinac, pnaixrose, zeddy222, Rena Moon, coca24cola, and jazzyknickers

If you have any questions for me… just add them to your review and I'll try and answer them as soon as I can.

_Italicized words_ are thoughts. **Bold words** are emphasis. CAPS WORDS are shouting.

**o(-)o Neo Fallen: Recovered o(-)o**

The only thing he could do to comfort himself was to climb up on the top of the dumpster and look down at her unconscious form. He took long moment to survey the situation once again, but mostly he wanted to see how Sakura was doing.

Her eyes were clenched shut, but twitching as if she was dreaming. He didn't want to know what nightmares she was probably having. One arm bent at an odd angle. There was little doubt in his mind that it was anything less that sprained, but he figured that it was mostly likely broken. Her legs were trapped under some sort of cardboard newspaper holder, but one leg had worked free. It was pressing up against the edge of the box nearest to her in an attempt to move the heavy object. The box was full to the rim and tied together with a few loose pieces of cord to keep its contents from overflowing. The rain had softened the cardboard and some of the newspapers inside had begun to escape from their wet confines. Her hair had worked its way loose from the ponytail he remembered and fanned out around her body. She was taking shallow breaths. The rise and fall of her chest was barely even observable from where he had situated himself. He barely even noticed it until he saw the small patch of fog on a large piece of shattered glass that had dug into a black bag dangerously close to her neck. Fortunately, her body was too far pressed into the bags below her, and the glass had shifted slightly away from her when she had created the crater in the bags. The garbage pile shifted again, and the glass slid to a safe distance from her. There was another piece of glass embedded in her stomach, almost shouting its presence to him. He blanched, the blood leaking from his face. A rust-brown stain surrounded the large glass shard. Her free hand was covered in the same color and rested near her stomach, as if she had tried to pull it out.

It was a wonder she was alive. The garbage bags around her had burst in many places, proof of the distance she had fallen. He could see the shattered window above her. There was no aura of life from the building. The men who had made this place their base had abandoned it. He sighed and looked back into the dumpster, keeping his silent vigil over Sakura's battered body. The only thing he could do now was wait.

He wondered why he hadn't tried to escape with her earlier. He thumped his head against the brick wall. _It's like I failed her. If I had the courage to take her from that place, then she wouldn't be in this position right now. _The rain continued to fall around him. He could see it pattering on the ground and against her skin. She had paled greatly since he had last seen her. For a moment, her eyelids fluttered. He wanted them to open, but of course they wouldn't. Something shifted beneath her and her body rolled slightly. The reddish-brown stain had spread all over her shirt, or at least, what was left of it. The blood began to run of her shirt in brown rivulets of water. Her entire body was soaked, so he closed the tops of the dumpster to provide her with some sort of shelter. It was probably the most considerate thing that had happened to her since he had bought her extra time to rest almost a month ago. Sadly, that time seemed like forever to him. He didn't want to think of how long it had seemed to her. A shudder worked its way down his spine and he thumped his head against the wall again. _Why did I have to be so late?_

When the paramedics arrived on scene, two more arrived shortly thereafter in a second vehicle. It came in behind the ambulance: a white van with red crosses painted on each visible face of it. The two men who emerged from it carried a large cutting saw while the paramedics emerged with the standard emergency medical equipment. He wanted to tell them to wait and that there was glass all over the dumpster, but his mouth was failing him. The words wouldn't come. And after all, who would listen to a teenage anyhow?

Two men easily carved a large hole in the side of the dumpster farthest from where she currently lay. They tore away the large section of green metal and tossed it into the alley. The sheet of metal clattered along the floor of they alleyway before settling to a stop against a wall. Loud clanging and clattering echoed down the long passage until the noise emerged from each mouth of the alleyway. The garbage lined up against the now-missing wall tumbled out in a surge of bags before she was carried toward the hole by black plastic waves. By some miracle, she managed to stay upright the entire time. The trash began to get caught against the edges of the hole and the flow came to an abrupt halt. Her body jerked to a stop and she moaned softly from either pain or surprise. The paramedics took that as a good sign, a sign that she was still alive.

Another duo replaced the two men with the saw. These people – one male and one female dressed in the white EMT uniforms – arrived before the dumpster with an IV unit, stretcher, and a tank of oxygen with a mask. The female carried a bright orange bag slung over her shoulder. Paper masks covered each one's mouth and nose. They gingerly picked their way through the sea of garbage until they were able to drag her out of the dumpster.

"NO!" she screamed. She thrashed about, flailing her arms and legs wildly. Her limbs smashed into the sides of the dumpster, into the pair of stunned paramedics, and into the scattered black bags, splitting the sides of some of them open. "Don't take me back!" she cried. "Please! I don't wanna go back!" Shaking her head wildly, eyes wide with terror and pure survival instinct, she tried to pry herself away from the hands of her true saviors. The pain that had been flushed from her body by the adrenaline rush was now returning to her in wave after wave of agony that contorted her body.

The rain continued to pour down around them, like tears from the sky.

Finally, she calmed down. It took an injection before she her struggles were fully subdued. She lay limply in their hands as they laid her half-conscious body on the stretcher. Her eyelids were only half closed over her eyes and she blinked rapidly. Even then, she continued to moan softly in protest to their actions. The word Sentry came up a lot. The female of the paramedic duo injected her with an IV tube and placed a breathing mask on her face. She brushed the long bangs away from Sakura's face and checked the girl's pulse. Something about weak and thready emerged from her mouth. She frowned, maybe out of frustration and injected another substance into the near-comatose girl before her.

They said that it was a wonder that she was alive. They were still mostly stunned from her reaction. They asked him if he was family and when he politely said "no," they refused to let him sit in the back of the ambulance with her. Sakura still twitched irritably but other than that, she was calm. At least her body expressed an air of serenity. He could sense that her aura was in chaos. Her face still wore a tense expression before they closed the doors on her and drove off in the direction of the hospital.

He was left standing in the rain, with no umbrella to shelter him from the weather. It was only due to his carelessness anyhow. _Tomoyo_, he thought, _I found her._ He smiled softly to himself before narrowing his dark eyes. He couldn't sense any danger around him. The pain he had felt in the Houses still lingered only as a soft residue of its former strength, but for now, it was almost completely gone. A faded haze of emotions that were slowly drifting into nothingness with each passing second. Taking a moment to survey the surroundings one last time, he walked off to find a taxi or some sort of ride to take him to the hospital.

He began to whistle to himself as he flagged down the first yellow car he could see. The noise calmed his nerves somewhat. The cab slowed and stopped before him. It admitted him and the driver sped off to the hospital minutes later.

o o o o

Tomoyo was already there, meeting him at the door to the waiting room of the emergency room. She was pacing nervously, waiting for the door to open. When the single drenched individual stumbled into the waiting room, she practically threw herself into Eriol's arms, unconscious of the water that was falling from his body.

Touya was leaning up against a wall, a cup of coffee clutched in his hands. "What took you so long?" he muttered. Yukito was close by, jacket draped over his shoulders and an umbrella by his feet. A small dark circle was slowly spreading as the umbrella shed rain onto the floor. A cup of the same steaming liquid sat forgotten by his elbow. He looked up when Eriol entered, pausing to place a hand on Touya's wrist. A quick exchange of words and Touya's glare darkened for a moment.

"How is she?" he asked finally, shrugging off his drenched jacket. Tomoyo was already handing him a small, translucent plastic sack. He could see something yellow within it as well as a hastily scrawled note. He swore he could recognize Ruby's distinctive handwriting, and a chill ran up his spine at the memory of Ruby's usual taste for clothing. A small voice in the back of his mind told him that he would most likely be better of in the clothes he was wearing. But a quick sigh – along with an urgent shove by one Tomoyo Daidouji – sent him off to the restrooms to change.

The clothes were not the fashion disaster that Ruby Moon had planned them to be or, at least, the disaster that he expected. The shirt was devoid of any accoutrements save a small breast pocket. The pants were a simple but matte black. The socks were even tame by Ruby's nature. He looked at himself in the mirror for some foolish addition to his clothes and found none other than a price tag on the shirt. That was tugged of without a second thought. He pulled the note out last and scanned it. A smile flashed over his face for a moment. Written neatly were the words: "Daidouji-san is a mean hag. She won't let me choose your clothes." He rolled his eyes and tossed the scrap of paper into the bag with the remainder of his wet clothes.

He emerged to a similar scene to what he left. The only difference was the addition of about five empty styrofoam cups. Tomoyo was still trying to dig herself a furrow in the floor as she paced about the room. Yukito was now lounged back in a chair that had been pulled up against the wall. He sipped on the cup in his hands, taking small glances at the entrance to the waiting rooms as well as the entrance to the operating area. The chair was, as Eriol expected, mere inches away from Touya's current position. Touya had his gaze plastered on the doors to the actual emergency room. Eriol chose a seat near Tomoyo and plopped down in it.

"You should sit down. The carpet is practically screaming in pain."

"Shove off," she said darkly, matching her words with a glare that would have turned a lesser man to stone or at least sent them running in fear. She stopped pacing to smile sweetly at him. "I'm a little stressed, that's all." And the routine began anew.

"I understand." He gave her a nod of acknowledgement and went off to find a coffee machine. "She'll be okay, I'm sure of it," he said before walking away.

Tomoyo stopped, rushing toward him. The light patter of her feet on the carpet alerted him to her presence. He was spun around as she grabbed his wrist. Her hands clutched his almost desperately. "Will she really be okay?" A glimmer of hope shone in her eyes. He nodded and her shoulders sagged in relief. Releasing his hands, she turned and sank into the seat beside him. "I'm glad. She's been through enough already."

"She'll definitely go through much more. This will definitely be taxing on her mentally as well as physically. In the end, she'll be alright, Kaho said so." He looked over, taking in her features. One hand went up to cup her face and she shied away from his touch. They both made a noise of apology before a silence settled over them. "I trust her judgement," he said finally. Using the armrests, he pulled himself up. "Right now though, my judgement will be faulty unless I get something warm into my system." He extended a hand. "Shall we venture off to find something? I'm sure that you'll be the first to know if her condition changes." Tomoyo had crossed her arms over her chest. "You look like you could use some food." She was staring forlornly at the still-unopened door to the emergency room. The ashen-haired girl paused for a moment in thought before taking his hand. She nodded, swallowing audibly, and walked with him on wobbly legs to find the nearest vending machines.

_( Post Fiction )_

Nothing really to say here. I got most of it out in the introduction. Basically, this begins the second arc of my story. It's all about first finding Sakura and mostly about nursing her back to health. And (gasp) Syaoran will make his appearance in Japan by the end of this arc. Though I won't say when I'll put him in again. I'm planning on doing a sweet little Tomoyo/Eriol bit for some of the next chapter as well as a few WaFFy moments. Hopefully it will all go well in the end.

I'm doing yet another Meilin/Touya fiction in the near future. It's called "Covered in Rain" and will be coming out sometime before I go on spring break next Thursday or Friday. And I promise to try and update Fallen over the break.

That said and done, please send in those reviews!

See you next update: _Ciuline Ihmenjo_


	12. Neo: Solace

Neo Fallen

Written by: Ciuline Ihmenjo

Card Captor Sakura does not belong to me. The characters in Card Captor Sakura do not belong to me. CLAMP owns CCS. Besides, even if you do try and sue me, I have no money.

_( Pre Fiction )_

I know, I know… I tend to get a little bit repetitive with my details at times. But, I starting doing my initial chapter work with paper and pencil once again. That usually helps my writing very much. It's how I do most of my Meilin/Touya stories. Most of those, I haven't typed up to be published yet. But I'll get around to publishing more of my stories once I finish Fallen Neo. Either way, thank you to all of the people who tell me what is wrong with my stories in such a constructive manner.

First and foremost, please refrain from leaving just one word or one sentence ("it was good, please update soon") reviews! Second, I'm beginning to believe my hypothesis. If I complain about a lack of reviews, then I tend to get more reviews. Though, in retrospect, fourteen is no number to squawk at. I guess I should try and design an experiment to test my hypothesis.

Either way, thanks to the following people for your reviews: Sin of Angels, eyesofheaven, pnaixrose, xifantasy, armageddonangel RogueSummersLover, Death Bringer the Angel, coca24cola, hex, EdanBlade, Scorpinac, Helbaworshipper, kutekimnd, and ezza

To EdanBlade: your review of my story had the most insight and has given me the most help I think that I've ever received… thank you for that. To Scorpinac: You're later than usual on your review (:P). To armageddonangel: No, you were not that one bad reviewer. In all actuality, I found your questions to be quite good. After all, they were all valid questions. And to all of you who have stuck with me for so long (you know who you are), my thanks to you as well!

Ah yes, here's some shameless advertising. In celebration of my eighteenth birthday (it was April tenth), I posted a fiction up in the Love Hina section. It's a short one-shot, but it's a new anime.

If you have any questions for me… just add them to your review and I'll try and answer them as soon as I can.

_Italicized words_ are thoughts. **Bold words** are emphasis. CAPS WORDS are shouting.

**o()o Solace o()o**

The lights were dimmed almost to the point of blanketing the room in darkness. Not that any illumination would matter in the least: the room's sole occupant was usually asleep. One hand was on the bleach-white sheets of the bleach-white room. Sakura lay in a calm trance. It was the first time she hadn't almost torn out the IV tube from her arm in her fits of sleep. The first time she hadn't thrown the blankets and sheets of in a fit of tossing and turning. The first time the sounds of plaster ringing on metal didn't float eerily through the room. The drugs saw to everything. At the moment, all that Tomoyo Daidouji could do was to softly squeeze the pale hand resting on the sheets and blankets. The cast was thankfully on the other side covered by the blanket. The feeling of plaster under her hands felt very inhuman. She needed to feel humanity beneath the tips of her fingers.

Dark circles were forming beneath her eyes. A sign of the sleep of which she had been depraving her body. Two lines shone varying ranges of sapphire in the artificial light of the room where the tears she had shed made their path. She rubbed vigorously at them with a clean kerchief. Her hair was tied back in a limp ponytail. Her thoughts being solely on Sakura, there was no room for hair arrangements. Her clothes were lazy as well. A plain, yet faded T-shirt and a modest skirt. No room for her usual careful and artful clothing decisions as well. She stood every few hours to pace around the room in a daze. Her thoughts were a flurry of images. She was a flurry of self-doubt. Every moment of the day, she tried to tell herself that everything would be all right. The hardest thing was convincing herself that she had not messed everything up. And when Sakura did wake – though the girl seldom did – she was there to calm the fears that plagued reality and dream alike. As little as she knew that her calming words were actually helping, she was there until the doctors and nurses arrived with a hypodermic needle. She stood as a vigilant sentry, but a kind one, to watch over the girl she cared so dearly for.

At the moment, she was pacing, a cup of tea in held in two trembling hands. Little ripples danced across the amber surface. Her pacing was her means of escape. Walking the thin ellipse on the floor of the room, she could set her mind to keeping her on that small path and off the outside world. Only then was she able to free her mind. But at some point she had to return to the real world. Being slammed back into reality was equivalent to reliving six months of failure. All her faults were laid bare for anyone to see. She felt naked… alone… scared.

She set the cup on the table by the window, gently scooting 'get well soon' flower pots and cards and other various object to the side in order to make room. It would have been the third victim that day to end up as a puddle of ceramic chips and steaming liquid. Two stained towels lay in a basket by the bathroom as proof of her cleanup. The aroma of tea radiated slowly from the towels only to be sucked into an intake vent for the air conditioning.

The string of a balloon hung just by her ear, and she began to twirl the pink ribbon absentmindedly around her index finger. A quick glance upward and she could read the bright yellow words on a kaleidoscopic background. It was the same 'get well soon' that hundreds of slips of folded paper displayed. Sakura stirred, but didn't wake. Another false alarm. Tomoyo felt her heart settle and looked out over the city.

"You need to get some rest." The voice came from the doorway. She turned toward the source of the noise. "You look like hell." Eriol leaned against the wall just inside the doorway to the room. He managed one of his charming smiles, but she didn't show any sign of a response.

"I'm… good," she managed. Stretching her arms out wide, she gave a deep yawn. There was a dull thump as she leaned back against her own wall.

"Go to sleep Daidouji," he said softly. "You need the rest."

"What if she wakes up with you in the room?" she said harshly. Her words didn't carry the intended sting due to the drowsiness in her voice. "Don't you remember last time that happened?"

"Then you'll be sleeping close by so she can have you there for comfort." He watched her sink wearily into herchair at the bedside. Her body conformed quickly to the familiar depression in the cushions. "She'll be okay," he added suddenly for reassurance. There was a slight pause and then: "You need to stop blaming yourself."

His words hit home, unearthing something she had kept under lock and key since Sakura has disappeared. She hiccuped, a quiet sob floating from her lips. When she looked up, there were tears glimmering in her eyes. "It's my fault. She did this for me. How can I not blame myself?" Looking briefly at the girl beside her, she pressed her forehead to the metal bars on the side of the bed. Her fingers wrapped around the chrome and steel. "How can you tell me to not blame myself? If I hadn't insisted that she come with me—"

He crossed the distance between them easily. One hand rested gently on her shoulder. She made no attempt to remove it. "Then, you would be in that bed. And she would be the one crying." His words were soft and calming, or at least, he hoped that they would be for her.

"Better off me than her," she sniffled, rubbing her eyes on her sleeve.

"No!" he barked. A nurse peeked into the room for a quick moment, silently ducking her head away when she saw that nothing was amiss. The sound of footsteps clicked down the hallway.

"Eriol," she produced a kerchief and blew her nose on it, "she never has done a single bad thing to a single person in her life. Just a blossom in the breeze that drifts with the current, minding its own business and never interfering with other things." A ping echoed in the room as she thumped her head against the bar. "How can I not blame myself?"

"Because Sakura made her own decision to do this. If you want to blame someone, blame the people who put her in this condition! Blame her for making the decision in the first place! Blame time! Blame fate! Just don't blame yourself!" he cried out. "You couldn't have done anything different, Daidouji." His voice was softer now.

She stood, her jaw set angrily. "Yes, but…"

"Nothing different Daidouji." His hand still lingered on her shoulder. "No 'buts.'"

She jabbed a finger into his chest, shoving him away from her. "You don't understand!" Eriol stumbled backwards a few inches, tripping on his own two feet. He caught himself on the wall, both hands braced against the bleached surface.

"You're right, I don't understand. I can't possibly understand." He folded his arms over his chest after regaining his composure. "But Sakura is my friend as well. Just like you are my friend." He closed his eyes. "And I can't let you continue to beat yourself up over something she did to save you." They stared at each other, angry and startled and confused. Flurries of ever-shifting emotions.

She looked up. "It's raining again." Her expression, one of casual observation, contrasted greatly with his look of puzzlement.

"Huh?" He arched an eyebrow.

"The rain… it's raining again." She looked out the window over his shoulder. The pattering of small drops against the window mingled with the hums of machinery and the echoes of their voices.

"What does that have to do with anything?" A puzzled expression was on his lips, and it glimmered in his eyes.

"Nothing, just a comment on the weather."

"Oh." He could feel his shoulders slump. She was still staring past him. Her brain was a whirling dervish of the past and present and cherry blossoms dyed crimson by blood and pain. He wanted to do something to help her, but there was no way to get inside her head. She kept so many things locked up tight within the confines of her mind. Even then, there were enough of her thoughts broadcasting their presence on her face. He wouldn't make any attempts to force his way into her thoughts. It would be rude. It was against every mannerism he possessed to do such a thing.

"Did I do something wrong?" She paused, unsure of what to say next. The abrupt change of subject startled him for a moment. Her fingers were clenching and unclenching on the metal bar. "By blaming myself… was it wrong of me to do that?"

"You did nothing wrong," he said finally. He glanced at her, studying the dark circles and limp ponytail. "You're being quite random today."

"I feel like it," she voiced tiredly. Another pause. "I'm confused. Attribute it to that."

He didn't say anything because the situation didn't call for it. It took only a nod of his head. She rose, standing on trembling legs. In fact, her entire body trembled. And then, she was suddenly pressed fully against him, her hands on his chest. She hadn't stumbled so this action was completely of her own free will. His eyes shot fully open; a pair of saucers set into his head. She squeezed his shirt in her fists and placed her cheek against the midnight coloring of his shirt. "Eriol?" she breathed.

"Yes?" He flushed noticeably, his body stiffening. His arms had locked against his side, and he tried to form other words. Words that jammed in his throat and threatened to suffocate him. He managed to swallow the thoughts, fighting his desire to fulfil some of the more mischievous fantasies that involved the trembling girl who had latched onto his shirt.

"Please," she whispered, "just hold me."

He stammered for a moment. Looking down at her, he pushed all other thoughts to the back of his mind, before gently wrapping his arms around her quaking form. His head tilted forward, his forehead resting gently on to top of hers. They stood like that, swaying in the thin beams of light that managed to fight their way through the curtains.

o o o o

Unbeknownst to the teens, there were two onlookers just outside the door. The white-haired one wore a red sweater over khaki pants. The one with the tousled brown in a black shirt with a pair of slightly faded jeans.

"You shouldn't interfere Touya," Yukito whispered. He peered into the room where Eriol stood, head on Tomoyo's shoulder, arms encircling her waist. They had been standing just outside the door for about five minutes. Enough time to hear at least part of the conversation. The door was only open a crack, but it was enough to afford both a solid glimpse at the two teens.

"Yeah, but if Sakura wakes up and they are still going all lovey-dovey, I swear I'll kill one of them." He grinned wickedly, cracking the knuckles on both hands. "And it certainly won't be Tomoyo."

Yukito only rolled his eyes. "What do you have against that boy?"

"Oh, him?" Touya leaned against the wall, making sure the motion was silent. "All sorts of things."

"Really?" Yukito's eyes lit up. "Then why don't you tell me over a cup of tea?" He gently tugged on Touya's arm, leading him away from the machines and bleach-white walls that held the sister of his friend captive.

"Wait a minute," Touya tried to steer him back toward the door, "don't you know the story already?" The grip on his arm was surprisingly tight in comparison to the usual light grip of the person leading him.

"Most of it, but you can fill me in on all the parts that I missed." A jerk towards the elevators. "They need to be alone."

"You and your romantic ideas."

"They're good ones, though." The white-haired man was all smiles.

"Shut up." He rolled his eyes. "Let's just get that tea."

"And food," Yukito added, a glimmer in his eyes, "you can't forget the food."

"God, you can be annoying sometimes." Touya placed the palm of his free hand to his forehead and gave a little shake of his head. "You know, I think you do these things just to aggravate me." Yukito beamed. "You and your damned stomach too." And the pair's mood turned somber as they walked toward the elevator.

o o o o

She didn't want to move. Her head was spinning and she was beginning to feel faint. At the same time, she felt safe. Safe and comfortable. The thoughts that had plagued her mind for the many months the world had mourned the loss of one Sakura Kinomoto were now gone or at least fading into non-existance. She was very aware of his head pressing into her hair, but for the moment, was perfectly content to ignore it. His breath tingled on the tiny hairs on her ears. And his arms felt so gentle, almost like they were holding something precious. She toyed briefly with the thought of being that precious something for him.

"That tickles," she giggled. She looked up, pushing herself away from him slightly. He let her lean back, but still supported her in his arms. "Why?" she found herself asking.

"You asked, so I figured I would oblige the lady's request." He was an ear-to-ear grin that slowly faded into his mysterious smile. The glasses he usually wore were tucked away into some pocket. "Was I wrong to do such a thing?"

She giggled again. "No, it was… nice…" She sighed, leaning into him once more to rest her head on his chest. "Thanks, I needed that."

"Anytime." He flashed her a grin that nearly turned her into jello. "You could let go of my shirt though."

She rolled her eyes, making sure that he saw the expression. "Let me guess, Nakuru?" She released him though and sunk back into the chair. His arms stopped at the wrist where his hands disappeared into his pockets. There was no memory of him ever moving. It was like she had imagined the entire scene. An afternoon daydream inspired by the rain. But he was fidgeting, something she knew he never did. And there was a slight warm tinge on her cheeks.

"Yeah, hit the nail on the head." He made a swinging motion with one of his hands. A nervous chuckled followed. "She hates when I mess up her shirts… even small wrinkles."

"You're blushing Hirizigawa." His initial response was a further reddening of his cheeks.

"I know."

"We should do that more often." The words spilled from her mouth before she knew she had thought them, or ever said anything. One hand clamped itself over her mouth. And she shook her head. She kept shaking it as if the motion would reverse time to the point where she could prevent herself from saying those words. But she knew it wouldn't, so she brought her head to a halt.

_She's right there in front of you… her lips are just in front of your face._ He couldn't shut up the jeering voice that came from the furthest depths of his mind. Her completely random confession had ensured this fact. Even then, he thought he had finally managed to suppress those thoughts, but here they were bubbling to the surface. "Yeah." He dug his hands back into his pockets, too afraid that the little voice would wrest control of them from the rational side of his brain. He began to shift his weight from one foot to the other.

She lowered the hand that covered her mouth, slumping back in the chair. "I don't know where that came from."

"Your confusion?"

"Just attribute it to that." She twitched from embarrassment, her cheeks now completely flush. Her gaze flew to her lap in an effort to hide herself and her feelings. "Please?"

"I will." He turned, walking quickly toward the door in an effort similar to her own. "Just, make sure you get some rest. I'm sure Sakura wouldn't want you to be loosing sleep over her."

"Right… sleep… yeah." She was completely flustered, despite all her efforts to keep her emotions under her control.

"Good night Daidouji."

"Good night Hirizigawa." She closed her eyes, waiting for her heart to stop fluttering and for the butterflies in her stomach to stop dancing. It was probably to a tune of happiness, or maybe it was unfulfilled fantasies. At least that was the end of that for today. She had wanted to kiss him. Shaking her head, she tried to dismiss those thoughts from her mind. They stayed, unwanted guests that she couldn't rid herself of. When she finally drifted off to sleep, her dreams were of him. Her dreams were very pleasant ones. And in the waking world, her cheeks darkened noticeably.

o o o o

There was something warm on her cheeks. She fluttered into awareness. Her eyes were somewhat distant, and her vision a little blurry, but she was awake. The last thing she could remember was the dumpster and the mountains of black plastic accompanied by the smell of rotting garbage. That may have been a dream. She wasn't sure if Sentry had been along to fish her body out of it. Of if he had beaten her into unconsciousness for attempting to escape.

Everything was so surreal that it could have only been a figment of one overactive imagination. A shudder traversed her spine. She could see blur of immaculate white walls around her. It wasn't the room she was so used to. The paint here wasn't peeling. Her head felt like a fog had settled over everything. The world was moving so sluggishly around her. Time dilating almost to the point of standstill. Every small movement sent a wave of nausea through her gut. She lowered her gaze, inspecting her self rather than her environment. A light blue something covered most of her body, and her arms lay flat on top of it. Her vision was wavering from haze to actual images. The first thing she wanted to do was to make sure she was okay. It was then that she noticed the tubes protruding from her arms. And the tube leading away from her face, announcing its presence in her nose with an annoying itch that she couldn't scratch. And her vision went back to complete blurs and shadows of an unfamiliar room.

A few rapid blinks cleared a small section of fog from her brain. Her flight response kicked in very rapidly, and she did the only thing that she could think of. She panicked. "Get them out of me!" she cried out. The words didn't reach her ears. She wasn't ever sure if she said them. The noise from her cry rattled about inside her skull. But something stirred from beside her. The figure's motion inspired a new fear in her. "I won't go back! You can't take me back! Please, don't take me!" And the rattling echoes continued.

It opened its mouth. She could see the lips moving, but no sound emerged. Her ears picked up something, but her brain was refusing to interpret it. She clawed at the figure and it backed away. The walls seemed to close in on her, increasing her panic and seemingly suffocating her. She felt something pinch against her skin on one arm and she tried to scratch it. The pinching wouldn't go away. If anything, scratching it only made it worse. She looked up meekly at the figure looming above her. A mild squeak emerged from her lips.

"You're finally awake!" The voice cut into her brain. She couldn't recognize it. The fact was that she couldn't really recognize anything. Her brain was misinterpreting so many signals that she wasn't even sure if she heard the words correctly.

"Sakura?" The voice was softened from the last series of sounds that it made. The voice itself was vaguely familiar. She looked up to see a pair of blurs now. One seemed to be peering down at her while the other attempted to push it away.

"Water?" she tried to say. Her ears seemed to be working now, though her vision continued to come in blurs. She wanted to tell them to go away, but she was too afraid of the consequences.

"Do you think she's thirsty?" This voice was distinctly male. Somewhat concerned. It frightened her as friendly as the tone was. She tugged the covers over her chin and then over her head. A flicker of recognition flashed in her mind, but her brain couldn't place either voice with a face or the other way around. She tried to nod her head, but the blanket concealed much of the action.

"I think she's afraid." The blur continued to shove the other away from where she was lying. "Now get out! You'll wake him up." The first blur paused from shoving the second one out the door to point toward the corner.

"Alright, alright! I'm going now. I'm leaving." She heard a door open and click shut.

She shut her eyes for a moment and opened them to see an ocean of faded cotton and pinpricks of light through the dark fuzz of the blanket over her head. One arm was bent beneath the blanket and had two tubes sticking out of it. One had a clear liquid flowing through it, the other the crimson of blood.

"You've been asleep for days." The face staring back at her when she lowered the blanket almost made her cry. She wasn't sure whether to laugh or to pinch herself. She opted for the latter. But she didn't feel anything but the sensation of something scaly covering her arm. Her fingertips hurt though, so she rationalized that she couldn't be dreaming.

"Am… I… free?" she asked in halting words.

"Free?" Tomoyo questioned softly. She had tears in her eyes, one hand frenetically trying to rub them away. The other clasped the guardrail at the side of the bed while her shoulders shook with withheld sobs.

"From the…" she couldn't bring her self to say the name of that place. She began to inspect her body now that she could actually see it. A cast covered much of her right leg as well as her left forearm. She could see a white cloth wrapped around the top of the same arm. It was all that she could see over the mixture of blue blankets and white sheets. Something announced itself with a constricting presence around her stomach and she could feel it whenever she took a breath. Laziness or, more likely, a lack of energy prevented her from peering beneath the blanket to see what it was. "Where am I?" The question came readily. For the moment, she was glad that her friend hadn't asked the name of that horrid place.

"In the hospital."

"How long have I… ?" She stared up at the ceiling. Her neck had begun to protest the fact she had turned her head.

"You've been her for almost two weeks." Tomoyo sniffled loudly. "But you've been gone for more than six months!" The sound of something bumping against the metal railed pinged in the room. "I've been a wreck since you've been gone. There were search parties and police. Posters with your name, a picture, and a reward were stuck up all over town." A soft sniffled preceded the sound of Tomoyo blowing her nose.

Her vision was blurring again, but something moistly warm slid down her cheek. It was surprising how cold her body felt in relation to her tears. "Why did you do it?" the girl sobbed.

Sakura didn't have an answer; she doubted that she ever would. She looked around nervously, trying to avoid thinking about an answer. Thinking hurt too much. Her eyes settled on a form in the corner. It was slumped in the chair, a coat draped over it. Her brain recognized it instantly as her brother. But her body – and everything else – was in motion long before that realization came to her. A scream tore through the steady rhythm of sobs that were just now emerging from her throat. She stammered broken sounds. One finger was extended unsteadily before her pointing directly at the person in the corner.

"What is he doing here?" she cried out. "Get him away!"

Tomoyo's expression turned distraught. The girl's head snapped around into the direction where Sakura was still pointing. "That's you brother." A small sigh of relief followed her words. "Are you sure you're okay?" Tomoyo instantly calmed herself and peered curiously at her friend. "You didn't hit your head or something, did you?" She placed a hand on her Sakura's head. "And you don't seem have a fever." Touya's head rolled over onto his shoulder, eliciting a new series of screams from the direction of the bed. One sleeve was rolled up to above his elbow, and a small bandage peeked out from where it was in crook of his elbow.

It took a moment for her to collect herself. Sakura nodded and then shook her head, trying to clear it. "I think I'm okay." She cleared her throat, commanding her fingers to loosen the death grip she had on the blankets.

"He's done a lot for you. You know that, don't you?" Tomoyo glanced into the corner again. The girl smiled. The expression didn't really reflect what her true feelings at the moment. That fact was entirely obvious to any observer. Sakura chose to be oblivious to it, letting herself sink back onto the mattress.

"H-he did?" Sakura stared up at the ceiling. She knew he would do just about anything for her. At the moment, it was the fact that her brother was a **he** in the first place that was troubling her. _Why am I getting so scared of him? He would never hurt me. But… they're all the same, aren't they?_ She wasn't so sure now.

Tomoyo turned her head toward the girl before her. "He's given blood… again. After that, he usually rests in here. Yukito's usually with him, though, but he had to work today. Everyone's stopped by to see you at some point or another." She swept her arm in a wide arc that encompassed most of the card-filled surfaces. "But your brother has been here every day since they found you. He's spent the night in your room, hoping for you to wake up." Of course, she had been doing the exact same things, but, at the moment, that was irrelevant. She brushed the thoughts from her mind.

"Can you… can you ask him to leave for me?" She ducked back under the blanket.

Tomoyo gave her an odd look. "Ask him to leave?" She cocked an eyebrow. "Why?"

"He… he's disturbing me," came the muffled reply. She didn't want to tell the girl that the sight of her own brother frightened her almost to the point of tears. She didn't even know why he was scaring her. The look in her eyes probably did a good enough job of displaying that emotion, so she sought to conceal herself further beneath the cotton. An air of understanding seemed to wash over her friend. Tomoyo walked calmly over to the chair and shook Touya awake gently. The two had a hushed conversation for a few moments. He nodded and walked from the room, stretching his arms over his head with a long yawn.

"See you later," he said and waved. Sakura only smiled meekly and flopped her hand limply up and down, poking her arm out from benath the blanket before pulling it back to her body. Tomoyo look at her for a moment and sighed.

"It hurts to see him," the lump of cotton said. Tomoyo could see the girl shift and then her head appeared. "I can't even figure out why." Sakura closed her eyes, taking deep breaths. For a long while, it was the only sound in the room that wasn't mechanical in origin. "I hate them for what they did to me."

"I should be the one in that bed." Tomoyo sniffled. "When Eriol found you… there was blood everywhere. You were pale as the sheets you're lying on." The girl sniffled again, opting to blow her nose this time. "I was so afraid that I'd loose you again." For once, there was no camera to capture the events and immortalize them, frozen as they occurred.

"This… it was my choice," she whispered.

"But, you left me! You took my place. Sakura, they wouldn't have taken you. I should be the one in that hospital bed, not you!" Tears had jumped to the corners of her eyes, threatening to flow down her face. She wiped them with the sleeve of her shirt. The action wasn't something she'd normally do. After all, crying was something she didn't normally do either. At least, she didn't cry much in front of others. Her emotions were something kept in private. The hurt and sorrow that she felt were not something she usually showed to other people. Her emotions were her own, so she would keep them to herself.

o o o o

A few minutes later, Tomoyo walked out of the room. Touya had fallen asleep outside the room propped up against the wall like some bizarre sculpture. The instant she opened the door, he snapped awake.

"Yuki?" he asked sleepily.

"No, it's me." Tomoyo's hand rested gently on the wall. "Right now, she just wants to be alone, that's all," Tomoyo said and began to walk toward the elevators, leading a bleary-eyed Touya behind her. "Actually, she's asleep. I think she needs that more than anything. For once, she doesn't seem to be having nightmares." The ride down to the first floor was done in silence. Neither talked, only stared at the reflections in the metallic walls of the cube, as the tiny number glowed yellow in their countdown.

"Sakura will pull through this. I'm sure she'll be okay. The monster always ends up doing just fine." The string of reassurances felt good. His words served just as much to comfort himself than the girl standing before him. Touya yawned and stretched his arms out. "I can drive you home. You've been here for the last few days after all. And you've been here most of tonight." He shrugged. "You look like you could use the ride, that's all." She shook her head in response. He took a deep breath and let it out. "I'm sure she'll be alright. You know my sister much better than I do anyway. I guess you can tell me if something changes even before I know it."

She only nodded. "My rides on the way over, but thank you for the offer." She looked at him and began to walk. "You know she's scared to death of you. I suppose that she's scared to death of all men." The thumb of her right hand was resting against her chin, and she chewed thoughtfully on the tip of one of her fingers.

"Wouldn't you be?" he asked. "After what she's been through, it doesn't surprise me in the least."

She looked at him, dropping the hand to her side. A small voice chided her for resorting to such childish means of comfort. "I don't know if I would be afraid or not."

"We'd all be there for her," he said, placing as much confidence as possible into his voice. "But, should I just back off? You know, give her a little space until she starts to feel better?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I think that would be the best thing for now." A slight pause and her shoulders sagged. "Although, I don't think she'll ever really be better."

"I know." His hand curled unconsciously into a tight fist. It stayed that way until they reached the door to the waiting room. He paused to hold the door open for her. Tomoyo blushed slightly as he stood with his arm keeping the door pressed against the wall stopped. Just a glance at him reminded her of Sakura. She smiled, stopping short in the middle of the hallway. Her thoughts were on the emerald-eyed angel, asleep in the hospital bed as the stepped out into the rain. He started through the door, but paused to allow her to catch up as she broke from her trance. She hurried through the open door and into the waiting room.

_( Post Fiction )_

Well, I couldn't find a way to bring this chapter to a close, so it just kept going on and on. It's not my longest, but a welcome change from the last two short chapters I put out. Thank you for continuing to read this story, for I am not worth the praise. Either way, expect another long pause between this update and the next one. After all, my senior year of high school is winding down, so I need to at least attempt to keep my grades up instead of typing fiction all the time. Eh heh heh…

See you next update: _Ciuline Ihmenjo_


	13. Neo: Anxiety

Neo Fallen

Written by: Ciuline Ihmenjo

Card Captor Sakura does not belong to me. The characters in Card Captor Sakura do not belong to me. CLAMP owns CCS. Besides, even if you do try and sue me, I have no money.

_( Pre Fiction )_

I finally was able to get out a longer chapter. I actually felt that chapter 10 should be split, so I ended up taking that chapter and creating two chapters by dividing it roughly in half. Sorry that they ended up being so short, but at the time, I felt it was a necessity to the story. And I still do now. That should get that out of the way. Ah, yes, one more thing. Syaoran is taking his sweet time getting into the story, I know that, but he'll be in there eventually, don't worry about it. I promised that I'd get him into the story by chapter 15… and I mean actually into the story. So that means that you'll see him either this chapter or the next one. It depends on how my writer's block is going on me this week. Between AP exams and Senior exams, my brain is pretty much fried. Ah well, college comes around soon and I have all summer to write for you guys.

First, BIG THANK YOU to my usual readers. To think that some of you guys have been with me since before I decided to rewrite this is a staggering thought. Thank you for everything that you have said, because in the end, most of it has helped me very much. That said and done, thanks to the following people for your reviews: Perseverance (thank you very much for your compliments!); angel of darkness; Jin-ashi; magdalia05; DakBug; pnaixrose; armageddonangel; coca24cola; Death Bringer the Angel; LadyAkina; miserene; Sunnflower; Scorpinac; Silver Shadow; Kitty Meow-Mix23; Helbaworshipper

By the way, for those of you who do end up doing so… please stop loosing sleep by marathon-reading my stories!

As usual, if you have any questions for me… just add them to your review and I'll try and answer them as soon as I can.

_Italicized words_ are thoughts. **Bold words** are emphasis. CAPS WORDS are shouting.

**o()o Anxiety o()o**

She jolted awake to the same pure walls of her room. They contrasted greatly with how filthy she actually felt on the inside. Even then, she managed to keep a smile on her face, despite the pain and anguish that tore at her sanity.

A pile of papers had replaced the cards on her bedside table. Tomoyo dropped off the work almost two weeks ago, and the next day, someone had taken a cardboard box and placed most of the cards inside. It was, to her, a relief. By removing the cards, some much-needed space had been cleared. The box sat by the chair nearest to her bed. It was a small box filled to the brim with multi-colored folded paper. Sakura was glad to be free from the clutter. Although she missed the cards and other items, a few balloons and a handful of potted plants were still scattered throughout the room. The balloons tended to gather near the intake vents; the plants were by the window.

Two pencils lay neatly on top of the stack of papers. She reached over to the table, glad that her arm and leg no longer hung in the oversized casts. She felt a little safer with her limbs by her side. The casts were smaller now – a little more mobile. Sakura sighed, thumbing absentmindedly through the top packet but not picking it up. After a moment, she withdrew her hand. Closing her eyes, she sank into the mattress. Sleep refused to come easily. When it did come, her dreams would tear her back into reality with such speed that she felt as if she had never slept at all. And if her dreams were unsuccessful in waking her, usually her screams were loud enough to wake herself up. When she woke, the echoes lingered in the room until the nurse or doctor arrived.

Unfortunately, the clock would show a clear progression of two hours here or four hours there. Somehow, she managed to sleep and somehow she managed to push onward each day. It took an incredible effort. Slowly, she was gathering up the pieces of her shattered life. Slowly, she was beginning to find the glue that she needed to put her life back together. That 'glue' came in small droplets. Just enough to see that it was there. Just enough to see that she was making some sort of progress in the grand scheme of things. It was just enough to hold another two fragments together.

With a sigh, she rolled over and reached over to the bedside table again. Picking up the top packet of schoolwork, she leafed through it again, tucking one pencil in her ear and grasping the other between the thumb and index finger of her right hand. In reality, she was bored. Life was boring and she wanted so desperately to get out of a bed and do **something**. She had enough of beds. The experiences of the Houses would never truly leave her. She was forced to live with the consequences of actions that, at that time she no longer had control over. Each day, she relived the rapes over and over again in her mind and her nightmares. Her dreams no longer qualified as dreams, for the only thing that she could actually picture were the men who used her and the Sentry that beat her mercilessly.

Shifting a little, she managed to find a comfortable position in which to write. Math was already completed. It had taken her almost all of the previous week – with a little help from Tomoyo, but she completed the make-up work in her waking hours. The lack of sleep gave her more than enough time to finish everything, but it was draining. The same dark circles she had seen under Tomoyo's eyes were beginning to form beneath her own.

"Are you awake?" The voice was soft, barely audible over the steady thrum of machinery. At first, Sakura attributed it to her imagination. "Sakura-chan?" The noise was louder this time. Definitely a part of reality. Tomoyo's head peaked in through the slight crack between the door and its frame.

"I'm up," she replied groggily. Rubbing a little sleepiness from her eyes, she placed the pencil on to the bed. "How's everything at school?"

"It's been better," she replied honestly. Tomoyo set her bag down by the door and plopped down in the chair beside the bed. She folded her hands in her lap, producing no objects to film the events. "And how are you doing?"

Sakura almost missed the video camera, but her friend had told her that she preferred to capture the happier moments instead of the depressing ones. "I guess I'm alright. They assigned me a female doctor." She sighed and a long pause followed where neither said anything. "I wish that I wasn't so afraid."

Tomoyo smiled weakly. "We just want you to get better."

"But will I ever get better?" she asked softly. Sakura tilted her head back to look up at the ceiling. "It hurts. Everything hurts." Her hands clutched the packet of paper to her chest. "I'm doing schoolwork so my mind doesn't think about the rapes. I can't sleep because all I dream about is getting raped." She closed her eyes and fell backward. The pencil balanced on her ear tumbled end-over-end to the mattress. It bounced once before being neatly fielded by Tomoyo. The second one tumbled across the mattress and onto the floor.

"You'll get better!" Tomoyo cried out. She was standing now, both hands pressed to the mattress in a pathetic gesture. The pencil lay safely on the bedside table. Her eyes were wide with an emotion that Sakura couldn't quite identify. "Because I should be in that bed. You didn't have to do what you did. And it… I… it's my fault you're there!" She shook her head and brushed something away from her face. A moment later, she turned away with a sob to face the window.

"It's not your fault," Sakura said when she found her voice. She wanted to reach out and pat her friend on the shoulders. For the most part she was still confined to this bed. When she moved, the world seemed to spin around her. Pain would flash near the moved joints and then through her nerves. Of course, she didn't tell the doctors that. She needed to be out of this bed and knew that information would keep her here that much longer. All she needed at the moment was some pain medicine and maybe a wheelchair. She'd be okay in the real world. At least then, she could have her bedroom and Kero and her cards to keep her company.

"It is!" She sniffled loudly. "If only I was stronger. Or if I hadn't insisted that you come with me that day."

"Life is full of uncertainties. Kero always told me to expect the unexpected. This was something unexpected." Sakura sighed, reaching over to place her packet of work back on top of the stack. She placed her pencil atop the pile of papers. "You can always keep saying 'what if,' but in the end, you can't do anything to change it. You're stuck with a present that you just have to get through." She smiled. "And how do you think I would feel if it was you in this bed?" Sakura patted the mattress. "I'd feel just as bad as you feel know. Heck, I'd probably be blaming myself as well. But, in the end, I guess I'd realize that I couldn't do anything, or maybe I wouldn't realize that." She shrugged before her face bloomed in a smile that was full of reassurance. "There was nothing you could have done. I chose this path for myself, no matter what the results."

Tomoyo whirled around, words of protest already on her lips. "But—"

Sakura held her hand up, cutting her friend off. "Just be your usual self. I miss that."

"How can you be so optimistic right now?"

"I just have to think positively about this. I know that what happened has already happened, and I can't do anything to change it." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She looked over at Tomoyo. "Six months is a long time to rewind with Time. I'd be too exhausted when I arrived in that alley to do anything. He may take us both if I did that, and the last thing I'd ever want is for you to face what I had to face."

Someone knocked on the door. "Is it alright if I come in?"

"Yes," Tomoyo replied, "we were just talking." He slipped in though a slit in the door, shutting it with a soft click. Sakura jumped when she saw him, backing away from the door until her body was pressed against the guardrails.

"H-hey T-Touya," she stammered. "H-how a-are you?" She had pulled the blanket up to her face, completely concealing everything but her eyes and the hair that fell down around her face. She had not yet gotten the chance to cut it.

"You don't sound too good. Maybe I should come back later." He began to turn around to exit the room. "I'll let you talk with Tomoyo."

"No!" Sakura was surprised at the tone of her voice. Touya was already at the door when her shout reached his ears. One hand was on the doorknob already in the process of turning it. "I-I have t-to g-get over this a-at some point." She slowly began to lower the blanket from her body, but still kept it covering most of her upper body. At least now it wasn't covering her face. "P-please, don't go."

"Alright." Touya closed his eyes and sighed. "You can be so stubborn sometimes." He took a seat at the far side of the room, placing his own bag beside him. "I talked to the doctor a few minutes ago. She said you should be able to leave in a few weeks. You still have about four months in those casts though. After that, you'll have physical rehab for a little while. The doctor is afraid you may not be able to walk quite so well, so they want to make sure you're okay. Plus, they want to make sure your bones mend properly." He shrugged. A look of concentration flashed across his face before he spoke. "Oh, and before I forget, that damned stuffed animal of yours keeps playing video games while I'm trying to study. He's driving me crazy."

"Wait a minute." Her current puzzlement overrode any of her current fear. "How do you know about Kero?"

"Walked in on him raiding the fridge one day when I got home early from work. At least I know where the cakes have been disappearing off to for the last few years." He shrugged again. "I've had my suspicions for a while now. But, he misses you. We all miss you. Oh, and this is for you." Standing up, he pulled a small package from his bag. "Dad, Yuki, and I chipped in to get you something since we missed your birthday and all." He started to move forward, but stopped. "You want me to give it to you?"

Sakura shook her head, fiddling with the blanket still in her grasp. "I do, I really do, but—"

"You're scared?" She nodded. His free hand curled into a fist. "If I ever get my hands on those bastards, they'll pay for what they did to you." His tone was dark and foreboding, and Sakura backed further into the corner of the bed. "I'm sorry, that must have scared you." She looked away, unable to meet his eyes.

Tomoyo, meanwhile, had gotten up and plucked the package from his arms. "You can open it once we leave." She looked down at her watch and gasped. "Oh, I have to get to rehearsals! My ride will be here any minute!" She rushed back to her chair. Depositing the box in Sakura's lap, she picked up her bag. Nearly stumbling, she managed to collect herself with a fair amount of grace. And she gave Touya a little wink that Sakura couldn't see. "I'll leave you two alone," she mouthed. Touya gave her a slight nod. "Bye Sakura-chan, I'll see you tomorrow after school." She waved before disappearing from the room.

Sakura tried to relax, but her entire body was tense, ready to flee. She didn't want to flee from this man. He was her brother. Why did she have to be afraid of him? He would never hurt her, but her brain was so set on the fact he would do something that she couldn't get her body to obey her. For the moment, all she could do was sit there and tremble under his concerned gaze.

"Do you want me to leave?" he asked, breaking the silence.

She nodded. "Wait, no I don't… I mean, yes, I do… I… I don't know." She looked at him then jerked her head around so she could stare out the window. She heard his footsteps. Then he was beside her bed, flipping through the packets there. "You've been bored."

"I-it's not like I-I have anyth… thing b-better to do!" She turned her head to face him, but rushed through her words, stumbling over some of them. Her eyes met his and she looked away again.

"Well, at least you've been doing something other than sleeping, kaiju."

She didn't turn her head. "I'm not a monster," she muttered. Touya smiled and walked out of the room, closing the door softly behind him.

Sakura looked around for a moment before tearing into the wrapping paper with her good hand. Inside was a plain brown box with a lid. She lifted it and looked inside. A cookbook and an apron, folded so a cherry blossom print was showing, sat on the bottom with an envelope on top of it. She made short work of the envelope and unfolded the note that was inside it.

_Hey kaiju. This should help so you don't burn down the kitchen when you get back home. After all, monster food is decent to have every once and a while. Hope you get better soon. Touya, Yukito, and Dad._

Her gaze shot toward the door. "TOUYA!" she yelled. She could hear his laughter echoing down the hall.

o o o o

"Did she like it?" Tomoyo was waiting for him when the doors to the elevator opened.

He stepped out, shoving one hand into his pocket. "I think she did." He shrugged. "The cookbook was a nice idea, thanks for offering it."

"It's no problem. I figured she'd want something that she'd enjoy once she returns to civilization, that's all." Tomoyo began to walk toward the door. "As much as she looks fine on the outside, she's still all broken inside though. I can tell that. It must be so hard for her to have gone though this." She sniffled, producing one of her lavender kerchiefs to blow her nose on it. "I'm sorry about that."

"Don't worry." He paused. "I just wish we could bring those people to justice. No one who does something like that should be allowed the privilege of living." For a moment, he just watched her stand there, tugging at the edge of the lavender kerchief. "You need a ride home?"

"No, I told a little half-truth. My ride should be here soon." She flashed him one of her sweet smiles. "But, thank you again. I'll be okay… I promise." Then her back was to him and she was walking calmly toward the exit. Her posture was a little worn, but she did look, as she said, 'okay.' He nodded and began to walk behind her. She turned abruptly and looked at him. "Why?" It was all she said. Tears were jumping to her eyes.

He wanted to ask her, 'why, what?' but held his tongue. She ran toward him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"It's not fair!" she sobbed into his chest. "It's not fair!" Her tears dampened his shirt, but he found that he didn't mind. He just made little shushing noises and stroked her hair. He didn't return her gesture.

"It's not your fault," he said finally. "You know that, don't you?"

She rubbed her eyes with her sleeve, then looked up at him. "I'm sorry… again." She appeared to be in deep thought for a moment. It passed quickly, and she nodded. Her tears had begun to slow to a small trickle, flowing gently down her face in pairs of racing droplets. "Sakura just said something like that to me."

He managed to detach her arms from his waist. "Well," he said with a slight smile, "you should listen to her more. She was right." Tomoyo had no response for him.

o o o o

In the end, it was another six weeks before the doctors would allow her to leave. By the end of that period of time, they had started her on a strict schedule of physical therapy sessions. At first, she thought that the whole experience would be nothing. Why would she need physical therapy anyway? Weren't the psychiatrists enough? After the first session, she knew her journey was a little more uphill than she had originally thought it would be. On the bright side, her leg and arms hadn't been completely broken from her fall as the doctors had originally thought they were. They claimed it to be a miracle. It would still be some time before they healed, but she would reach full recovery much earlier than what had been expected. She attributed some of that to a subconscious effort on the part of her magic, and was thankful for it.

But she did have her problems. Putting any weight on left leg would send waves of spasms through her body. The spasms were usually followed by a jolt of pain that stripped the breath from her lungs. A large percentage of the time, her hand on her left arm didn't seem to want to do what she was telling it to do. In all, her body still ached, while her injured limbs did little more than detour her current attention from elsewhere on her body. Her head hurt when she moved, sending the world into a spiral of blurred images. She still refused to tell the doctors anything but that she was feeling much better and that nothing was wrong. Deep inside of her, she knew that they didn't completely believe her, but they didn't try and challenge her false assurances.

Currently, she was seated in one of the chairs beside the bed. All the machinery in the room was turned off. No more persistent hums and beeps filled the room. None of the screens showed anything other than a blank blackness behind the convex glass. At least today she was finished with her exercises. They left her as drained as the combined efforts of her schoolwork and lack of sleep, of which she still experienced the latter. She wanted to be finished with these exercises, telling the doctors that she would be just fine without them. It was a lie on her part. She didn't know anything about medicine. She really felt much better than they said she did. Now if that persistent dizziness would go away. She shook her head, shutting her eyes to keep the world from swirling around her.

The first time she had gotten out of bed, she needed both hands on the nearest wall to steady her. It hadn't really gotten any better for a long while. Her body seemed to forget how to balance while walking. Her own two feet decided to go in separate – and usually opposite – directions at the same time. Nothing seemed to want to work the way she remembered it working. All the functions in her body had been scrambled but not reset. At least she had something to build on.

Learning something she already knew – but mostly forgotten – was an annoying experience, aggravating her to no end. She rolled her eyes and hoisted herself out of the chair, standing on two trembling legs. Her arms still grasped the bed rail. She reached out for the pair of crutches. They had tried to give her a wheelchair, but she had rudely turned the offer down. She was tired of being babied. Instead, she had opted for a pair of crutches. In her mind, they greatly improved the image she had of herself in her mind. Crutches did not portray her as weak. The mental image she had conjured up looked much stronger hobbling around on a pair of crutches than puttering around in a wheelchair. The only problem with the crutches was that the chain on which she wore the key of Clow had a tendency to send the object flopping up to hit her in the face. It was an annoyance, but one that could easily be dealt with. Putting the pads for the crutches under her arms, she tested her balance for a moment.

"Are you ready to go?" Tomoyo asked from her position in the doorway. She was casually twirling a pair of keys around her finger. "Touya left a little while ago and your dad said he wouldn't be home until later." She yawned deeply, stretching her arms out wide until they thudded against the wall. Embarrassed, her arms shot down to her sides. She flashed a slight smile. "Ready to leave?"

"Am I ever!" Sakura exclaimed. Her leg ached and the room spun, but she wanted so desperately to leave. In spite of all her pains and aches, the scent of the air of true freedom had been gnawing at her senses until she felt she would go insane. "I haven't really been out and around in almost eight months." _Of course, I'll still be hindered by those damned crutches, but at least I'll be out in the warm sunshine._

Tomoyo picked up the small bag containing the remaining greeting cards. The plants that had not yet wilted and died would be taken care of by the hospital, but probably disposed of anyway. The balloons had been picked up the janitors the day before. "Do you need any help?"

Sakura looked around the room, taking it in before turning her head toward her friend. "I told you all, I'm fine," she insisted. A wince crossed her face as she took her first tentative step away from the bed. She hobbled over to the door, swinging forward on the aluminum supports. Her direction was a little off at first, but she corrected her movements accordingly so she would no longer be tottering into a wall. "See, I'll be okay." Sakura knew that her friend needed reassurance more than anything. Tomoyo was still blaming herself for what happened, no matter how many times people told her otherwise. No matter how many times Sakura told her otherwise.

"You're… you're sure?" she asked. Her voice wasn't as confident as it had been, but Sakura played it off with a smiled.

"Yes, I'm sure. Now can we please leave? This place is beginning to drive me insane."

"I was just about to say the same thing."

Sakura smiled. "Then, to home," she said, finally about exit the bleach clean room for purposes other than ones for the sake of her wellbeing. Even though it contrasted so greatly with the tattered walls of the houses, it still confined her to a bed where she had little choice on her own fate. In an eerie sort of logic, the hospital was almost the Houses in her mind. She shuddered.

"Something wrong?" Tomoyo asked.

"No," she replied, closing her eyes for a moment. "I think things will start to look up now." She didn't add the thought deep in her chest. _At least, I hope things will look up…_

_( Post Fiction )_

A bit of a shorter chapter than I had planned, but I still like how it progressed. Either way, I just wanted to say, by the time most of your read this, I will have graduated! When May 14, 2005 comes around, I will no longer a high school student! I'll have to write some sort of one shot in commemoration of this event.

If anyone has any ideas they would like to field for consideration to be turned into a one-shot celebration fiction, please e-mail them to me. My new address will be in my profile, so please go and check it out. I plan to update the format of it as well. Until then… see you next update!

_Ciuline Ihmenjo_


	14. Neo: Specter

Neo Fallen

Written by: Ciuline Ihmenjo

Card Captor Sakura does not belong to me. The characters in Card Captor Sakura do not belong to me. CLAMP owns CCS. Besides, even if you do try and sue me, I have no money.

_( Pre__ Fiction )_

Okay… I'm sorry, it has been far too long since I've updated. I was working diligently on ideas for the story until I realized something. I don't have a chapter to get to what I have ideas for now. Oh crap. Oh crap. So, I immediately dropped everything to start writing a bridge to my future story plans. Thank you for bearing with me. Here are the fruits of my labor! Oh, and please forgive the spelling and grammatical errors present in this chapter as I really just wanted to get it out for you guys to read after such a long break!

Once again, please review because I love the feedback I get from you guys! And the only treason I'm complaining is that the number of reviews has gone down once again (from 16 to 14, not a large drop but a drop nonetheless). Thanks to the following people for your reviews: Death Bringer the Angel; ShadowCat666; hopeluv-chan; Jeddahgirl; FlowerLover; MewMewPower (and please make your reviews longer… I love the number you added, but I'd rather have one long review than 13 short ones); coca24cola; pure hope; DakBug; Scorpinac; pnaixrose; armageddonangel; Kitty Meow-Mix23; and LadyAkina.

And thank you SaphirePheonix for discovering my story… but Sakura's dream in chapter 1 is about her future experiences in the Houses.

If you have any questions for me… just add them to your review and I'll try and answer them as soon as I can. Oh, and the title? It's because of the ghosts of her past that are haunting her. Besides… doesn't 'specter' sound so much better than 'ghost'?

_Italicized words_ are thoughts. **Bold words** are emphasis. CAPS WORDS are shouting.

**o(****)o Specter o()o**

No matter what she did, she still felt unclean. She kept scrubbing her skin. The sponge raked over bare flesh and spread soap over every exposed inch of her body. But, she still rubbed at unseen dirt. Everything hurt. She had nightmares even when her eyes were open. As she walked past them, the faces of random people in the crowded streets morphed into the monsters from her dreams. It hurt to think about the Houses, but that was about the only thing on her mind. Nights were spent sobbing in her room. Early mornings were spent in vain effort to create an image that did not have reddened eyes, rubbed red until tears refused to come any more.

Sakura stood under the stream of hot needles, letting them pound against her body, carrying away unseen dirt and dead skin as it flowed into the drain. She reached forward and shut off the water. The gentle, warm spray slowed to a trickle before dripping onto the ceramic floor of the shower. Standing before the mirror, she wrapped a towel around herself. Her reflection stared back at her, looking haggard and pale. The usually cheery expression was gone, and her face seemed to droop. Her hands fluttered over her arms, the towel unable to cover all the marks on her body. She wanted to hide them. At least, the scars were fading. Some still stood prominently, others appeared as pale pink lines. The memories of how she had received many of them stood out so vividly in her mind. She thought that she might never forget them. She shivered, even through the steam that permeated the air in the bathroom. Resisting the urge to slam her fist into the glass, she turned and started toward the door.

It took her only a few moments to reach the door to the bathroom, turn the handle, and open it slowly. The hinges emitted a small squeak, but, other than that, everything was silent. At least, everything was silent until she hit something in front of her and screamed.

"Sakura?" The voice was calm and soft. She looked up, her body shaking, to see the concerned eyes of Yukito Tsukishiro gazing at her. And she screamed again.

"No! NO!" She clutched the towel wrapped around her body tighter to her chest. "Please… just… please?" Her voice was barely a plea. "I'm so sorry." Her hair flew about her face and she tried to look at him, tried to summon the courage to do even that. She couldn't… her eyes wouldn't move from a faint stain in the carpet and her head felt like she was paralyzed at the neck.

"It's not your fault," he said calmly, "none of this was ever your fault." He turned back toward her brother's room. "If it makes you feel better, I'll leave now." His voice was calm, but she could tell he was troubled.

Even though she sensed this, she ran, stumbling over clumsy feet as she bolted for the sanctuary of her room. She thudded against the door before throwing it open. After a moment, she slammed it shut and sank to the ground. The tears in her eyes started with a hiccup. And then the floodgates burst… she couldn't stop crying.

In a daze, she picked herself up and made her way over to her dresser. She dug through the clothes until she found a pair of pajama bottoms and a top. They didn't match, but she didn't care. The towel ended up as a heap in the corner of the room. She threw on the clothes. The top stuck to her, whether from lingering dampness from the shower or her own perspiration from her fears, she did not know. She didn't want to find out.

Stumbling toward the bed, she managed to crawl under the covers and try to fall asleep. It wouldn't come. She tossed and turned, shifted and then shifted again, but sleep eluded her. A rapping on the door caused her to seek further refuge in her flimsy linen sanctuary.

"Hey, you in there squirt?" The handle jiggled and then turned. She swore that she had locked it.

"Go away," she muttered. The blanket partially muffled her words.

"I'm not leaving you."

"Please? Just go away. It would make me feel better."

"We're all worried sick about you. You haven't eaten anything since you came home." He walked over and sat on the bed. The lump in the sheets darted over to the other side of the bed, to the farthest corner from him.

"I don't care." But she knew her words were lies. She really did care; she just wanted him to leave. Her words had the opposite effect. He shifted – she could feel his movements on the bed – so he was closer to him. She couldn't run anymore. He reached a hand out, tentatively at first, before laying it gently on her shoulder. At least it looked like her shoulder. He couldn't really tell through the thick down comforter and linen sheets. Even this slight contact sent shivers down her spine. Her lower lip trembled and she bit down on it to bite back a scream.

"Come down and eat something. Heck, I'll even bring something up here for you to eat."

"Please, Touya, just go away." She was scared. This was her bother. Why was she scared of her brother?

"Do you want to talk to Yuki?" Touya removed his hand, and she stopped trembling.

"N-no… I've… I've already talked to him." She poked her head out from the sheets. "I'm okay, really."

"No you're not," he said softly. "Stop acting like everything is all right. It's not." He pressed his palm to his forehead and sighed. "We really are worried about you."

"Don't then!" She turned over so she was facing him, giving him a good look at her face. Her cheeks were red and puffy. Emerald eyes gleamed with tears that still fell, trailing down flushed cheek to drip off her chin. Her upper lip twitched while the lower one held steady, sucked between her teeth as she turned her head away, unable to hold his gaze any longer. "I'm ashamed of myself."

"What's there to be ashamed of?" His voice radiated concern. Shifting again, he settled back against the wall by the head of her bed, enlarging the distance between them.

She sniffed, rubbing her nose with an arm. "I couldn't save her! I did the only thing I could think to do. I took her place. It was childish… and stupid. I could have been killed. I almost wish that I had died! But, none of that mattered then. I was desperate!" She looked up at him again and then burrowed into the comforter. The blanket was still curled around her body, the comforter making her resemble little more than a shapeless lump. Her eyes met his again before darting back to a spot on the wall. "It hurts. I can't look at you. I can't look at Yuki! I can't even look Dad in the eye!" she wailed. Her small hands curled into fists and she pounded them against the mattress. "Why doesn't the pain go away? Why does it hurt so much?" Her form shifted under the covers. He could tell she had curled into a fetal position. Her head remained in the same place.

"I don't know," he said finally. "I don't know how to help you. You won't let us." He rose, patting her lightly on the side as he stood. Turning toward her, he smiled. "There's some food downstairs for you if you'd like it. Dad cooked some noodles for tonight in the hopes that you'd find your appetite." Her stomach chose that moment to emit a particularly loud rumble and she shushed it. Touya only chuckled, a boyish grin on his face. "Kaiju's need to come out of their cave every once in a while."

"I'm not a monster!" she protested.

"Just come down when you feel like it, kaiju," he said, hand on the doorknob.

He was already closing the door, but she picked up a pillow. She flung it at him, but the door had already closed. It bounced off the wall with a hollow thump and skidded to a halt on the ground. The pillow instantly turned to the body of a scared, honey-haired girl in her mind. She shook the image away, but the pale form only lay on her floor, battered and bloodied, moaning soft sounds that only she could hear. Panicked and scared, she squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again after a moment. Once again, the pillow lay on the floor instead of a hallucination of her body. It took long minutes for her body stopped shivering.

She hugged her knees to her chest. "Why does it hurt so much? Why do I keep remembering these things?" She looked at the pillow again, but only for a moment. At the moment, she did not trust her eyes and brain enough to see a pillow instead of her body on the floor. "Go away… go away… go away…"

Chanting the words almost calmed her. Voices and noises of the Houses still echoed in her head. Her screams, her cries of pain and distress, Sentry's rough voice… they all revisited her every day. She couldn't get them to go away, and was still unable to shut the voices out. Her head spun and she felt lightheaded. Slumping back onto her mattress, she closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep. Her attempt was once again proved fruitless. Kero flew into the room from where ever he disappeared during the day. The smells he brought with him were familiar yet unidentifiable. He would leave early some mornings not to return until late in the afternoon. She didn't really both to ask where he went or why.

He had only recently unpacked the small video game system she had in her room. Only recently had he again immersed himself in a small car or a tiny figure made of tiny colored pixels. It was almost scary to her… the fact that her disappearance had changed the life of so many people.

Touya had quit nearly all of his jobs except for one, but only so he could have some sort of spending money. She had seen the stack of gas bills and the wear on his motorcycle. Yukito had bought a helmet, only to leave it at her brother's room. Tomoyo had taken a momentary break from school, but everyone knew the reason behind it. Both her father and Tomoyo's mother had taken a leave of absence from work. Yamazaki and Chiharu had actually gathered materials, pouring over newspaper clippings and the internet to find information about other such disappearances. They had shared their finding with Tomoyo and Eriol in a large manila envelope. Naoko had used her publisher to try and gather information. Rika had furiously baked treats and other confections for the rest of the class, using her time between homework, school and sleep to try and keep everyone's spirits up. Even after the police announce the search for a body, everyone knew, Sakura would return to them.

Even the guardians had been busy. Yue and Ruby Moon had spent nights together searching the city. They had spent days together as Nakuru and Yukito, combing the city with Touya in hopes that their own magic would be able to sense Sakura. Nothing had come until that one night that Sakura had escaped. Even as her body fell nearly four stories to crash into a trash-filled dumpster, she sought death to be free from her curse.

Instead, she had been reborn. Her soul was different, but only subtly as Eriol had told Tomoyo. Her magic carried a slightly different feel to it. The cards still accepted her, but she was unsure of whether this was because she was their Mistress or because they still cared for her as a person. Although, she didn't understand how they could care for her.

She felt so dirty.

o o o o

"Hey kiddo." The voice startled her and she sat up suddenly, looking for the source. She found it in the form of Kero, sitting atop the shelf above her bed, nestled among a collection of stuffed animals. "Something troubling you?" He fluttered down to the bed and perched on one of the bedposts. "I mean, other than that whole disappearing act you did… something wrong?

She looked at him for a moment and rubbed at her eyes. "Do you think," she paused, "do you think I'm unclean, Kero?"

He choked and almost fell from the post. "What are you talking about?"

"It's a question." She sighed. "Just answer it… please? Kero, do you think I'm unclean?"

"Of course not, kiddo." He was hovering just inches from her face now. One concerned paw rested gently on her head. "You don't feel sick or anything, so what made you say that?"

"I… I don't know." She flushed, mostly from her frustration and a little from embarrassment.

He fluttered back onto the shelf above her head. "What do you mean by that anyhow… that part about being 'unclean'?"

"It's just that…" she looked up, now the frightened little girl the Houses had made her, "Am I dirty… disgusting?" She lowered her gaze, her voice not even to the level of a whisper, "unfit to be the Mistress of the Clow?"

"NO!" His response was sharp and clear, but she continued to speak, seeming to ignore him. Her voice was louder now, but there still was no confidence in it.

"Will the cards still accept me… for… for what I've become?" She crossed her arms over her chest, wrapped up as they were in the light pink sheets. "For being so weak? Kero, I'm sorry, but do they still want me after what I've done?"

His eyebrow twitched and he folded his arms over his chest. "I don't know what the heck you're talking about kiddo. The cards love you. And you've done nothing wrong."

"But… but, if was stronger… then… then I could have…" She broke off, her hands curling into fists. She seemed so small in that instant.

"You could have done something, or you could have not done something." He sighed. "Strength has little to do with this situation. You won't always be strong enough to fend of something that comes your way. Sometimes, you just have to try and fight through it. After all, even Clow had some problem that he could not overcome. We all have those problems."

"Then why do I feel so bad?"

"Because… you are upset and frustrated and angry at everything and they really did hurt you. These feeling are normal. You feel violated and used. I can understand why you are feeling that way, but I have no clue what you are feeling." He took a deep breath and hoped down off the shelf, landing just by her shoulder on the bed. "Come kiddo, talk to me. We can't make you feel better, only you can do that. But we can offer our support and encouraging words."

She shut her eyes and gave a deep sigh before opening them again. "I can't really talk to anyone about this… because they wouldn't understand." She sighed, curling her fists around the comforter beneath her hands. The soft material crinkled in her grasp and she brought her hands together until she could no longer move her hands.

"Then try and make us understand. And if you can't do that… if reliving your experiences are so bad, then just come to us. We will all be there for you."

"Kero…" she sniffled, wiping her eyes with her sleeve and rubbing at her nose with her other arm after releasing the comforter from its confinement in her hands. "Thanks." It is a whispered thank you knowing he doesn't really expect it, but nonetheless, she says it before moving on with her words. "I just can't tell them. Tomoyo blames herself for it, so I can't really talk to her. Touya is a guy… I can't talk to him because my body and mind can't stand being near him. Plus, he still feels that he's failed me, discussing what happened would only increase that feeling. It's the same way with Yuki… he's male… and he's Yue. I don't want to dump my problems on either of them."

Kero smiled a little, the thought on his mind: _Yet, here you are dumping them on me…_

She looked at him and shut her eyes. "I can't go to anyone because they don't know what it's like. Chiharu and Naoko and Rika don't know… and neither do any of my friends. I just want to seal myself away sometimes and cry until I die." She sniffled again. The tears had stopped now and she felt much better, as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

"Feeling any better?" he asked her, already guessing at her answer.

"Actually… yeah, I am." She rolled out of bed. Flashing an unsteady, weak smile, she began to walk toward the door. "I think I just need something to eat."

"Are you sure you want to go out there?" His expression instantly turned to one of panic, remembering the first time she had meet her brother and father in the house. She had screamed and turn to run, only to slam face first into the wall. The dent was still there, but the blood from her nose had been cleaned off.

"I have to face them at some point… even if the entire time all that I'm doing in standing there, mumbling incoherent words as my knees bang together."

If she had turned around at that moment, she would have seen the diminutive, plush-toy-like guardian smile. "You're already on your way to healing, kiddo..."

_( Post Fiction )_

I promise the next update won't take as long as this one did. Guess what, the moment you have all been waiting for is just around the corner. Syaoran finally makes his actual appearance in Chapter 15. It's a little different as Chapter 15 is mostly Eriol and his guardians as well as Tomoyo and Kero talking about Sakura. That's pretty much the entire chapter, but promise you that Syaoran will be there, bringing with him Meilin and a few dark secrets of their own… but I'll reveal those in the coming chapters.

See you next update: _Ciuline__ Ihmenjo_


	15. Neo: Arrival

Neo Fallen

Written by: Ciuline Ihmenjo

Card Captor Sakura does not belong to me. The characters in Card Captor Sakura do not belong to me. CLAMP owns CCS. Besides, even if you do try and sue me, I have no money.

_( Pre__ Fiction )_

This is not Fallen. That's where I have to start, by saying that this story is different. The events will play out similarly, but at the same time, there a huge difference. Fallen became repetitive, and that same thing will not happen this time around. Instead, I'm changing it, jumbling things around, and playing off stereotypes of characters. Meilin roles have angst is my biggest play here, although I usually write her in an angst position anyhow. Some people will leave with relief and a better liking of the story; others will vehemently hate the changes. Hopefully, most of you will fall in the middle of both categories. But, this is my time to explain **why **I've changed the story.

I found the need to put myself on a different track than Fallen or else I would start to sink into my boring, somewhat-repetitive drabble of the original. At least, it was that way in my mind. With that being said, I had started to write a different ending for Fallen while I was actually posting chapters for the original. It is this material that I now decided to pour over until my eyes hurt, found its weakness, and mercilessly hacked it apart to present to you – my readers – what is posted here. I'm still hacking apart that material and still trying to figure out how to put it into chapters. For those of you who take the time to read this, I thank you dearly because I've changed Neo from the original Fallen, and this is where the expansion really picks up… starting with a different take in the arrival of one Li Syaoran and the circumstances that he is called back to Japan, bringing one Li Meilin with him…

I think that posting during the school year generates more reviews for some reason. I'm down to only 12 at my last count. I usually average about 15. But, that's enough of my complaining about a lack of something. Thank you to the following people for actually submitting reviews: FlowerLover, LadyAkina, butterflies4ever, coca24colar, Scorpinac, armageddonangel, Helbaworshipper, RougeSummersLover, hopeluv-chan, pnaixrose (Update! Update!), miserene, DakBug, and Chrizzie. Only 12, but much better than 0.

If you have any questions for me… just add them to your review and I'll try and answer them as soon as I can.

_Italicized words_ are thoughts. **Bold words** are emphasis. CAPS WORDS are shouting.

**o(****)o Arrival o()o**

Sakura barely made it through her first day back to school. Between the death glares that Tomoyo shot at any approaching males and the seemingly ubiquitous Eriol, Sakura's day should have been better. Eriol kept his distance, while Tomoyo stayed close. Even with the presence of her two friends – though one did his best to stay in the background, Sakura could not concentrate. People kept coming up to her and asking how she was doing. This would either provoke a death glare from Tomoyo, or in worse cases, a captivating story – or as Chiharu would call it "a lie" – from the mouth of Eriol or a combined effort of himself and Yamazaki on a seemingly random subject. They tried their best to serve as a distraction, which usually worked. It was after a long discussion on the history of baseball that Chiharu finally snapped. Yamazaki was going on about how the ancient peoples of the tropical island of so-and-so really invented the game when someone was clubbing coconuts in an attempt to split them. Eriol was complimenting him perfectly.

"But wouldn't the coconuts break?" someone had questioned about halfway through the story.

"That was half the fun," Eriol replied, not missing a beat and continuing with the 'lie.' "When the coconut broke, someone would run home to get another coconut of the right size and shape."

"And since they played in someone's backyard," Yamazaki said with a smile on his face, "getting a new coconut would take just long enough for the players on the bases – they called them sacs because they used sacs – to run to home plate." Chiharu began to shake uncontrollably; her face was turning a vivid shade of red. "Which was a real plate from home that would be given up to the person who coached the winning team…" At this point, Chiharu barged in and dragged Yamazaki off while Eriol closed out the fabrication. She understood the situation, to a point, even though her boyfriend was killing her ears, so she let them continue to serve as a distraction.

And so it went.

Nevertheless, people got through the barrier to ask field Sakura a question.

Usually, it would be something along the lines of: "We heard about it… are you okay?"

Of course she wasn't okay… she'd been raped by multiple men on a daily basis. Of course she wasn't okay… she still lived through the daily torment from her memories of the Houses. Of course she wasn't okay… couldn't they tell? Were they really that dense?

But the words: "I'm fine," would somehow emerge from her mouth.

She knew that they didn't really understand. It wasn't that they didn't comprehend her situation; it was that they couldn't possibly understand it. How do you let someone know about the amount of physical pain you went through? It was even harder when it came to something so abnormal. That was not their fault. What happened to her was not their fault. She only sat beneath a barrage of questions until people were drawn away by the narrowing of female eyes or the entertainment spurting from a pair of male mouths.

The end of the day left her exhausted. She ran from some people, hid from others. The teachers didn't really call on her, so at least she was spared that embarrassment. But she heard the whispers of her classmates. They traveled around the halls and through the classrooms, permeating the air wherever she walked. They were whispers, barely even rumors, told by males and females alike. Tomoyo and Eriol and her other friends could do all they could as physical buffers, but they could do little to stop the spreading of rumors. Things like what had really happened to her. That it was all a lie and she'd been off visiting some guy in China. Someone had said she had actually liked it. Someone else said she was still being used. Sakura tried largely to ignore them, but she found that she wasn't having too much success. It seemed that their voices would do little more than rumble around inside her mind. Even as she tried so desperately to push them away, she didn't have much luck. So, she moved on. Little by little, she managed to find a way to get through the day. After all, this was only the first day. If she couldn't survive this, she should be going through with this whole 'school' thing in the first place.

o o o o

"How has she been doing today? I mean, you'd know better than me. You watch her more." Eriol sighed and flopped into his plush red chair. "And, after all, you do have more classes with her." His head was pounding, his mouth dry. One whole day was not a usual amount of time to be thinking about telling jokes. He usually pursued other intellectual pursuits… such as solving world hunger or planning methods to bring about world peace. After all, he has been though school long enough to have learned everything that he needed and then some. Unfortunately, Sakura's feelings were not something that fell into his wide range of comprehensible subjects. His eyes traversed the room and fell on Tomoyo. Nor did one certain female's feelings fall into said range.

"She's… troubled… still…" Tomoyo's words were halting. She started down into the copper puddle of tea in her cup. A small wisp of steam rose out of it while she stirred it idly with a spoon. Finally deciding it wasn't too hot, she took a sip and sighed. "I think she just isn't ready for this."

"Neither do I, but all of this is her decision," Kero said. He was sitting before a rather large slice of cake. A small doll-sized fork in a shade of dull pink was clutched in his hand. As he spoke, he made small motions with the utensil. "After all, I asked her if she really wanted to go back to school and everything. She kept saying that she didn't want to fall further behind everyone when I brought up the subject." He paused to spear a little part of the cake. "I mean, she's been trying so hard to confront her fears that she's been doing everything but hypnotizing them away. She's been trying to eat with her brother and father, but she usually ends up running back to the room just after dinner starts. Longest she's been down there was about five minutes I think"

"So, she's making progress then?" Eriol asked. He sipped on his own tea, but it was tasteless. He suspected that his exhaustion has some part in this fact.

"A little," Kero replied, "but at least it's better than nothing."

"I just want to know if she'll really ever get better," Eriol said, finally placing the cup down on the table. He leaned back, letting the soft red leather almost enfold him in its comforting grasp. Even on the verge of total exhaustion, he managed to somehow stay awake. His will power still didn't stop the fact that his eyes were feeling like lead weights. The thought crossed his mind that the reincarnation of any famous mage really shouldn't tire so easily. He dismissed the thought with the wave of a hand.

"You mean you don't know anything?" Tomoyo asked. She looked at him curiously. "Hasn't Mizuki-sensei said anything?"

"She only told me that Sakura would find her own way out of her predicament. There wasn't ever anything about what would happen to her after she got out of the Houses." He got up and walked over to the window of his apartment. "I mean, Ruby Moon and Spinel have been doing what they can to watch over her when she's not at school, and I supposed that Kero and Yue have been doing the same thing." His commend elicited a curt nod from Kero, who immediately went back to eating. "After all, they are just as concerned about her as you and I." He leaned against the wall near a window and peered out it. "It's just that I can't do anything… and it's frustrating. With all this power, I can't do anything to help her."

"But I can't either, and it's not frustrating at all." Tomoyo had gotten up and laid a hand on his shoulder. Her head followed soon after, her chin resting softly on her hand while her hair fell in a cascade down his back and draped over his shoulder to flow down the front of his shirt. "We can't **do** anything because that's how Sakura is. She doesn't want to bring any pain to us… to share her worries… so she leaves them all to herself." Tomoyo sighed. "I just wish that she would come and trust us. But now, she just needs time… a lot of time… to think through this all. I just think if she keeps taking time, she's going to fall into a depression or something awful with happen to her."

"Maybe we need outside help," Kero said with a sigh. He was pacing on the table now, making jabbing motions at the air with the fork. "We need someone who could help to snap Sakura out of this funk."

"She is **not** in a funk!" Eriol and Tomoyo said simultaneously. Tomoyo instantly detached herself from Eriol's shoulder and then turned away, embarrassed. Eriol stared out the window, trying to will himself smaller. Both had momentarily forgotten about the third presence in the room.

"Either way, maybe we can't do this alone," Kero said.

"But we aren't doing this alone!" she replied. "Everyone is helping." She paused to take another sip of her tea and then set it back on the table. "It's just that we can't do anything if she doesn't want our help or she won't accept it."

"Try something else then?" Eriol looked at her and shrugged. "I mean, I want Sakura back to her cheerful self just as much as you do – as we all do. It's like you said though, she doesn't seem to want our help."

"We've tried everyone," Tomoyo said softly, "haven't we?"

Kero looked up at her and then at Eriol. The plush toy of a guardian sighed and held up a hand. "No, we haven't tried everyone." They turned to him and stared for a moment. Then, Eriol's eyes lit up.

"That's it!" he cried out. He rushed toward Tomoyo and grabbed her hands. Startled, she backed away, but only hit the wall. "Why didn't I think of it before?"

She only gave him a stunned stare that quickly filled with confusion. "Think of what?"

"Him! He can snap Sakura out of it." Eriol shook her arms up and down and smiled. "We can get Sakura back to normal… well, at least he will have a better chance than anyone else would."

"WHO?" Tomoyo demanded, pulling away from his grasp. She was a few shades of red and quickly retreated to the couch before anyone had the chance to notice.

"Kid, I don't think she knows who we're thinking about." Kero stood up and flew onto the table. He set down next to Tomoyo's teacup and sighed again. He looked at her for a moment. "You know I wouldn't be doing this unless I was desperate, but we haven't tried Syaoran yet."

"Oh." She rushed to the phone, picked it up, and began dialing.

o o o o

"You are just being stubborn!" Meilin shouted. She already had a suitcase on the bed and was filling it with clothes. Of course, she was still taking the time to neatly fold each garment, all the while shouting at Syaoran to stop being 'so damned indecisive.' "Honestly," she continued, "I don't even know what Kinomoto sees in you sometimes!" She threw her hands up and made pulling motions at her hair. It was the third time in the last week that she had attempted to pack a suitcase. Although, this time, she had almost filled it and showed no signs of giving up the venture.

"Meilin," Syaoran said softly, "please stop. I have duties here that I can't leave."

Her next action stunned him. She stepped forward and slapped him hard on the face. The mark from her palm burned a fiery red. "LIKE HELL YOU CAN'T LEAVE YOUR DUTIES!" Meilin glared at him. Her face was red and her breath was coming in short gasps. "She hasn't written you in almost a year. You haven't seen her in nearly three years." She held up a hand. "And no, that video that Daidouji sent over for Chirstmas does not count!" She seemed to have calmed down, at least for the moment. "I'm sorry… I shouldn't have done that."

"Don't worry about it," he said. "It's not permanent." After rubbing the mark for a moment, he had started to help her pack, folding clothes and handing them to her to place in the large suitcase. "What's wrong though? You usually aren't like this."

"I just have this feeling that something terrible has happened to Sakura." She looked up at him. "She is so devoted to you, even in her letters. She'd never just leave you without some sort of contact for somewhere near eight months." Meilin turned quickly back to packing the suitcase, just stuffing random articles of clothing into it now. Syaoran swore he saw her put something with frills and lace inside the large green thing but thought better about commenting on it. It was probably something innocent anyhow. She wiped her eyes a few times and rubbed at her face with a bare forearm.

Syaoran placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled. "It's okay." It wasn't, though. His dreams of her had stopped very recently, but he still heard her voice in his mind, softly crying his name at night.

"Please," her voice little more than a whisper, "can we please go see her Li?"

As if on cue, the phone rang.

The caller id identified it as someone from Japan, but did not say anything more than that. Neither Tomoyo nor Sakura nor any of her friends from Tomoeda really called that much. They usually sent e-mails because of the cost of phone calls. Both occupants in the room froze and stared at the ringing object. She reached out after the third ring, taking the receiver into her hand and pressing it to her ear.

"H-hello?" Meilin said. "This is the Li residence, Meilin speaking." She smiled after a moment. "Oh, no, I didn't know it was you Daidouji-san." There was a long pause, during which Meilin paled considerably. "No, I never heard anything about that." Another pause. "Yes, I'll make sure he gets there."

Syaoran watched in silence as Meilin hung the phone up. She picked the receiver back up after a count of ten and dialed a number.

"What was that about?" he asked.

"You… I mean… we are going to Japan."

"Wait a minute! I thought that you said we were going to talk about this!" he protested.

"Something happened to Sakura," Meilin said softly. "Daidouji won't tell me what though. Syaoran's mouth fell open. His eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched after a moment. He hurried back to packing as Meilin made flight arrangements.

o o o o

Tomoyo had made arrangements for both Meilin and Syaoran to stay at her house. And if there was one thing that Tomoyo believe in, it was planning. She had called Sakura over to her house and planned to have them meet. Syaoran and Meilin would be arriving in the afternoon, and Sakura would be leaving just before the taxi from the airport arrived. Then, there would be some sort of reunion. Her only hope was that nothing would happen… but of course, nothing every goes according to plan. She hadn't thought that'd they would have to take separate taxis…

Sakura stepped out of the front door to Tomoyo's house. Her life had been running rather smoothly since she had gotten back to school about a week ago. Yes, there had been a few bumps, but she had struggled over them, and managed to land on her feet once again. At the moment, it was a good day. The sun was bright on her face, and she felt relaxed. Tomoyo had tried – and succeeded – to get measurements for a few new costumes. Really, she just wanted to see how the colors looked. After so many years of making clothes, she had gotten fairly good at just guessing on the measurements.

So, when she nearly ran headlong into the taxi pulled in front of Tomoyo's house, she should have know that something was different. Hopefully, she had recognized the logo for the airport that was decaled on the size of the yellow car. She stammered apologies and bowed once before moving on her way.

"Sakura?"

"Yes?" The words tumbled from her mouth. She turned. A boy – no a young man – stood there. He had tousled brown hair and eyes of the same color. The green t-shirt should have clued her as to his name, but her eyes widened. He thought it was from surprise, but it was really from fear.

"It is you!" he said and approached her.

"No!" she cried out. "Stay away from me!"

He stopped. This wasn't the greeting he expected.

"You won't take me back! I'm not going back!" She wanted to move, but her legs seemed to be rooted to the spot.

"Sakura, snap out of it, what's wrong?"

"You just want to take me back!" she cried out, turning to run.

"It's me!" he said, raising his voice a little. It sounded desperate. "I'm Syaoran… don't you remember?"

His words stopped her in her tracks. "Syaoran?" She turned and looked at him again. "No, he looks different."

_Of course, you haven't seen me in almost 8 months… I'm going to look different._ He sighed. "I've grown a little since you last saw me."

"Syaoran is in China!" she cried out. Her feet were carrying her away from him, even as her mind was telling her that there was a chance this could be **him**. But, she didn't want anything to do with **him**. She didn't want anything to do with any of them. And she especially didn't want **him** to see her like this. Not as the nervous wreck she had become. "He is waiting for me to write him a letter. You can't be him… you can't!"

He started to approach her and she backed away for each step he took. The heel of her shoe clipped a raised edge in the sidewalk and she stumbled backward into Tomoyo's wall. He was inches in front of her. "It is me. I've just grown a little."

The commotion had roused Tomoyo, who arrived on the scene just in time to see Sakura raise her knee very high into the air. There was a large whuff of air from Syaoran, followed by a short grunt. He collapsed to the ground, clutching his groin.

"That wasn't supposed to happen," she muttered, just as the second taxi arrived.

Meilin stepped out of the cab. She blinked slowly, looking first at Syaoran, crumpled on the ground, and then at Sakura. The girl was standing against the wall, jaw set angrily as Tomoyo skidded onto the scene.

"What did you do to him?" she cried out, rushing over to Syaoran's side. "Daidouji, what is going on?"

"Uh," Tomoyo was at a loss for words. "This wasn't how I planned it. You two were supposed to arrive at the same time so something like this wouldn't happen."

"We had too much luggage," Meilin said, "so Li went ahead with the bags while I flagged down another taxi. I mean you said to back for a very extended stay." She pointed to the backseat of Syaoran's cab, which was full with three bags. Rushing to his side, she knelt down beside him. "Li, speak to me," she said. After a moment, she began prodding him in the shoulder in an attempt to elicit some sort of response.

He rolled onto his knees and looked up. "She has a lot more power behind that than I'd expect." Despite the pain he was obviously feeing, he managed a weak smile. "Can you believe it's me now?" he asked.

Sakura looked around wildly. Her hair fluttered about her face in a slight breeze, the dust at her feet kicking into the air in a frenzied dance before settling again on the ground. "Syaoran?" she said softly, uncertainty filling her voice. "Why are you here?"

"Daidouji called us," Meilin said matter-of-factly. "Didn't you know?"

"No." Sakura looked over at her friend. "Why are they here?"

"I wanted to see if they could help." Tomoyo said softly. "You've been really different lately, Sakura-chan." She rubbed at her eyes for a moment. "I just wanted to see if they could help you… get back to normal."

Sakura closed her eyes. "I don't think I can ever be normal. Not after that."

Meilin stood up and dusted herself off. "What is it that you haven't told us?"

Tomoyo wordlessly handed her a newspaper clipping. The headline read, "The Houses." There was not picture in the upper corner, nor did the article ever mention a name. The article gave the barest of details. It talked about the fact that similar disappearances have occurred in the past six months before 'this girl's' disappearance. It then went on to tell what the Houses were. Places of forced prostitution, where the victim of a kidnapping is required to live her life in rape. It never mentioned the words rape and never really mentioned what the victims went through, but it was painfully obvious. Equally obvious was that the girl in the article was Sakura, but only because of the situation.

"Wait a second… you have to be kidding me," Meilin said. The article fluttered to the ground where Syaoran snatched it up and began reading furiously.

"I wish I were," Tomoyo replied solemnly.

"How?" Syaoran managed to croak. He had finally sat up, hands trembling so much they threatened to rip the piece of paper clutched in them in two pieces. Since he had managed to work himself into a sitting position, Sakura had moved much closer to Tomoyo, almost as if seeking sanctuary from her friend.

"It's why she hasn't been writing, and it's also why I sent you that video tape over Christmas instead of both of us sending our usual cards." Tomoyo looked at him. "She's been in the hospital for almost a month, and she just got out about two weeks ago. We need you… I think she needs you too."

"Well, she looks like she's doing just fine on her own," he chuckled and stood with a grimace. "I mean, it doesn't look like much is wrong with her." Both Tomoyo and Meilin turned to gawk at him.

"You can't be serious?" Meilin asked in disbelief, although the question contained her stunned protests to what had happened to Sakura.

"Well, nothing much is wrong with her other than the fact that she doesn't seem to want to come near me." He shrugged. Two feminine sighs of relief floated through the air. "What happened to her, anyhow?"

"She hates men," Tomoyo paused for a moment and let out a breath, "or at least, she's afraid of them."

Sakura turned and glared at her. "I'm working on it!" she objected. "At least, I'm trying, but it's just not working." She waved her hand to encompass Syaoran and Meilin. "What I can't believe is that you went behind my back." That same arm folded across its opposite. "I don't want their help. And if you don't have anything else to say, I'm leaving."

"You don't want help from anyone!" Tomoyo said, the volume of her voice increasing with every syllable that emerged from her mouth. It stopped Sakura in her tracks. "We all care about you." Her voice was softer now, back to its normal tone and volume "No, we don't know exactly what you've been through, and no, we can't really empathize with you. The truth is, Sakura, we do want to help you. We want to do something other than sit back and calmly watch as you self destruct."

"I'm not going to self destruct."

"But you already are," Meilin interjected. She walked over to Sakura. "I just want to slap some sense into you right now." Her eye narrowed for a moment. "I mean, they all care about you, and it's painfully obvious. Let them care! Let them try and understand. Try and help them to understand. I mean, after all, they're your friends, and they just want to know what's happening to you. They just want to try and support you through this time. And, for the love of all you hold holy, LET US HELP YOU!" She finished with a loud outburst and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I don't want your help!" she cried out. "I don't need your help!" She shoved Meilin rudely aside and stormed down the sidewalk. The Chinese girl stumbled backward onto the grass, where she lay, half-sitting on the walkway.

"How do you know…" Tomoyo started to say, but she was cut off before she could finish.

"Stop being so selfish!" Her hands were now balled into fists and, from where she was on the ground, she stared at Sakura. The Mistress of the Clow turned, startled, and fell onto her butt. "You're not the only one who had to deal with this!" Meilin cried out. "I was raped too you know!"

Everyone stopped to look at her. Time stood still as, for a handful of seconds, no one moved. Even Syaoran was frozen as the center of attention became one girl who suddenly became smaller than he could ever remember. Then all eyes shot to Sakura, who was still sitting on the ground, equally paralyzed at the moment from shock.

"That's right," she said softly, taking the opportunity to try and stand, pushing against the ground with her palms. Her voice wavered even more than her arms as she continued. "I was raped too. I never told anyone, not a single soul. I didn't want them to suffer the way I did. I couldn't turn to anyone for help because who wants the people they love to know that someone had forced them to have sex. I just want it to be a secret, like a skeleton buried in the deepest darkest corner of the closet, never to see the light of day." Her knees shook and knocked together. Finally, she just collapsed into a shuddering heap on the grey concrete. Keeping her head bowed, she managed to keep it off the ground by bracing herself with her arms. Bent as they were at the elbows, her forearms were resting parallel to each other on the ground and supported most of her weight. "I didn't want their pity or anything. I just wanted to die. Maybe death would have been the easiest way out, but, then again, I never take the easy way out." She managed to crack a smile at her own comment. "If he found out who I told, he may have hurt them… so I never told anyone, even as he continued. I kept it my dark little secret." Silence fell over everyone as Meilin managed to get into a sitting position. Little shudders passed through her body and her shoulders bounced up and down each time she sniffled. When she looked up, there were tears in her eyes. "Can you ever forgive me for keeping this inside of me?"

_( Post__ Fiction )_

Okay, that whole conversation between Meilin and Li at the middle just doesn't work out in my mind. I kept rewriting it as the inspiration hit me, but it still didn't come out quite right. Actually, come to think of it, the entire middle quarter – half of the story just doesn't sound write. I think that I need to rewrite that at some point! Something's missing and I don't know how to fix it (to quote John Mayer). For now, I'll move on.

Gah, I really hate to play off clichés. I really do, but I think that Sakura needs someone to talk to… for the most part. Also, I think that somewhere, someone dictated that Meilin is rape-bait or something because there are so many CCS fics that has Meilin in an angst role where she is raped… and usually by her step/father. So, either way, I think that I like how this progressed. Please tell me what you thought of this change.

See you next update: _Ciuline__ Ihmenjo_


	16. Neo: Warning

Neo Fallen

Written by: Ciuline Ihmenjo

Card Captor Sakura does not belong to me. The characters in Card Captor Sakura do not belong to me. CLAMP owns CCS. Besides, even if you do try and sue me, I have no money.

_( Pre__ Fiction )_

First thing's first… I'm going to stick to my angst-ridden stories. Daze of Fallen Guardians was only a response to a challenge by another author. Its main purpose was to help me over the massive writer's block I was experiencing on this chapter. In short, it's filled with rather… cynical (not sure of the right word here) humor, and I'm not sure if I should have published it to begin with… What's done is done, though, isn't it?

Anyhow, this chapter took much longer to write than I thought that it would. In the first place, it was not as long, nor is it as 'deep' as I wanted, so I kept hacking away at the keyboard until I deleted the entire chapter and started from scratch. Thus, more time to the clock. Now, here's chapter 16 before I decide that this one is unworthy and delete it.

Thanks to the following people for your reviews bringing this chapter's total to a very nice 17!(First reviewer) pnaixrose; purehope; armageddonangel; Helbaworshipper; LilAngel123; meow-mix23; FlowerLover; Scorpinac; LadyAkina; RogueSummersLover; thetroublesometwins; DeathBringertheAngel; xifantasy; coca24cola (beginning to wonder what happened to you); inuyashababe44; DakBug (beginning to wonder where you were as well); and Princess Yang Fa

If you have any questions for me… just add them to your review and I'll try and answer them as soon as I can.

_Italicized words_ are thoughts. **Bold words** are emphasis. CAPS WORDS are shouting.

**o(****)o Warning o()o**

The stunned silence that had settled over the group seemed to last for an eternity. Every few seconds, it was broken by a choked sob, but even those were fading into nothingness. Meilin was still sitting on the ground. Sakura remained on the ground as well, though she had risen into a more dignified sitting position. No one else had bothered to move. The world remained as still as the moments after Meilin had blurted her secret to the world.

Then, the chocolate-haired boy moved. He walked toward her, one arm extended friendly. His hand opened, and his fingers fully extended in her direction. He smiled. It was somewhat sad and distant. "I knew," Syaoran said finally, "I've known for a long time."

"H-how?" she asked. Her head turned away from him for a moment. She refused to take his hand or to even look at his face. Instead she gazed intently at a small, white flower in the grass. She glued her eyes onto that flower. She made it her entire world. The world would not touch her. It was a futile, unsuccessful gesture. Emotions were flooding back into her brain. Ghosts she had long thought were buried rose from the graves she had left unmarked. Her past flooded into the present. All her work was being undone. Why? Because she wanted to save this one girl?

It didn't make sense in her mind. This was the one girl who ripped love from her heart and threw it to the wind. But this was also Sakura. This was the same Sakura who did something special for every person whose life she touched. Meilin could not deny that. She would not allow the relationship that Syaoran and Sakura had worked so hard to forge to be torn apart.

"Mother told me," he began softly, "before we were engaged. She didn't want me to be stunned to learn about it at a later date. Even when I learned then, I wanted to kill that bastard." The fist of his other hand was clenched, but he stuffed it into the pocket of his jeans.

Tomoyo had made her way over to Sakura and helped the still-stunned girl to her feet. Sakura shrugged the hand away and stood up on her own, sighing softly. "I'm sorry, Meilin," she said, brushing herself off. "I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. It's just, with everything that's been going on…" She trailed off and looked down at the ground.

"It's okay." Meilin smiled softly and rose. "I think I just need to have a bath… some time to think… something like that. Yeah, that should do it." She turned to Sakura. "If you want to talk later, I'll be in whatever room that Daidouji-san puts me in. You can even try and work up the courage to talk to Li," she finished with a wink. "As for now, I think I need that bath." She walked back to the still-waiting taxi, calmly grabbed two bags from within it, and then rushed for the house. She didn't want them to see the tears in her eyes.

o o o o

In the time that Tomoyo had taken to walk Sakura back to her house – and much to Syaoran's obvious chagrin – Eriol had stopped by with a wrapped box. Customary greetings were exchanged between glaring matches between the two males. There was the traditional wisecrack about Syaoran and a compliment on Meilin's dress before he settled on the bed to watch everyone else unpack.

"You know," Tomoyo said, looked up from where she was taking clothes out of a large suitcase and placing them on the bed, "she's been though a lot."

"I know," Syaoran replied. He turned to look up at Eriol. "You **could** help, you know."

Eriol smile was all teeth. "Ah, but then I would miss the chance to see my darling relative's more… feminine side." Said 'darling relative' rolled his eyes and gritted his teeth. Tomoyo giggled and looked through the bag to see if she had missed anything.

"This is not feminine," Syaoran growled.

"And, besides, you are almost finished." Syaoran grumbled something rather intelligible. Meilin snorted from where she was placing clothes into the drawer. Obviously some inside joke. Eriol chose not to interfere… this time.

"Okay," Meilin clapped her hands together and smiled, "that should do it." She took a moment to brush her hair back – still wet as it was – behind one ear. "Other than the situation with Sakura, how is everyone doing? I mean, it's been so long since we last talked like this."

"I'd prefer it stayed that way," Syaoran muttered, staring daggers in Eriol's direction.

"Surely, you jest," Eriol said in mock-distress. One hand was dramatically placed against his forehead, palm facing outward. He smiled and shook off the guise. "No, I think that we need to be together. This is for Sakura's sake." He closed his eyes. "I don't care what happened, but you can put up with me for the time being."

"Why didn't you help her?" Syaoran asked. There was no pretense or leading into the question; he just said it. He settled opposite Eriol on the bed. "Why couldn't you do anything?"

"My hands were tied," he replied. Eriol sighed. "It's not like I could do anything. For that matter, none of us could do a thing. She suppressed her magic. No one could sense her, but enough of her presence lingered so that the guardians and cards could remain in this world. It was odd really, almost calculated, I must say."

"You're not answering my question."

"Ah, I'm getting to it," Eriol looked at Tomoyo. "Any chance we could get some tea sent up? First, I think this will take a while. Second, I'd fancy some tea at the moment."

Meilin rose before Tomoyo even responded. "I'll get it. You guys can play catch up." She flashed a slight smile and walked out of the room.

"Wait!" Tomoyo called, but the raven-haired girl had already left the room. "I could have had a maid send it up." She settled into a chair. "Well, at least you guys are unpacked… for the most part."

"Yeah, it's okay." Syaoran folded his arms and took a seat in another of the room's chairs. "We can handle it from here." His arm shot out, index finger extended straight at Eriol. The sudden desire to pin the reincarnation to a wall flashed into his mind. "And you," he said, voice quivering, "you have some explaining to do. We made a promise, remember?"

There was no wise retort. "Yes, I do remember." Eriol stood and began pacing. "It's not like I could do anything. She wouldn't tell me what was going on, nor do I think she would have." He sighed. "I knew she was having dreams again. She doesn't like to have them, some reason about 'not wanting to have the ability to control the future.' Sakura likes to leave those sorts of things up to fate and the other devices that control the world."

"ANSWER THE DAMN QUESTION!" Syaoran roared. Something in his brain snapped. He charged across the room, grabbed a stunned Eriol by the collar, and slammed him up against the wall. The entire room shook from the impact. Tomoyo winced and hoped no one would bother investigating. "Why didn't you do anything?" he growled, shaking the somewhat-helpless Eriol. Tomoyo regained enough of her senses to leap out of her chair and was trying to calm him.

"I'm trying," Eriol said calmly, sending his eyes to glance at her quickly. Another vicious shake from Syaoron sent his gaze back to the matter at hand. "Please, though, put me down, I think it would be in both of our best interests." He gently placed a hand on Syaoran's shoulder. "I tried… I really did try." Syaoran dropped him into a heap on the floor before he flung himself back into the chair. He was still smoldering, but he refused to give back into his anger.

"Why?" he managed to croak.

"She doesn't want our help. It's like Meilin said, 'who wants the people they love to know that someone had forced them to have sex?' Some of them just want to deal with this alone. I think a rape victim wouldn't go and readily tell everyone what had happened to her… especially not Sakura. I don't think that Sakura wanted us to know because she wanted to work through this on her own. Maybe she never would have gotten out of the Houses if she worked on this all by herself, but at least that would have been her own fight." He sighed. "No, I don't agree with the logic, but at the same time, I can understand it. Even though she is out, she still wants to sort through the aftereffects of being in the Houses on her own. Although, the publicity she has received coupled with the number of rumor flying around school, I don't think she will have that luxury."

"I would have been there for her. I would have given up everything for her!" Syaoran leapt to his feet. His glare was met with an equivalent look from Eriol. "How can you even—"

He was cut off.

"Sit down." Eriol did not raise his voice. The only difference was the clear danger that it promised. He pointed to the chair, and the boy stumbled backward into it. "I know that, but you also would have rushed into everything, and your hasty actions could have gotten Sakura hurt." He started pacing again, eyes focused on Syaoran. "Look, I'm not trying to deny that you love her, but I am saying that you wouldn't have stopped to think about your actions because… **This.**** Is. Sakura."**

The only sound that remained was heavy breathing as Syaoran fumed. "Why?" He barely managed to spit the word out.

"I tried… I really did. There was so little that I could do, though."

"You promised… if anything happened to her, you would be there. You promised me that."

"I was there for her. Quite frankly, you were not." Eriol crossed the room in second. He jabbed a finger into Syaoran's chest, almost toppling the chair over. "And for the fact of the matter, you didn't have to see her like I did. There was blood everywhere… her blood. You can't tell me that I didn't do anything. I couldn't do anything. They would have killed me and then killed her. So, you can't place the blame on me."

Finally, Syaoran looked up. "What did they do to her?" He paused, running his hands through his hair. "I want to know how I can help. I want to help her get better."

Tomoyo spoke up this time. "They did horrible things to her. It wasn't just rape… they did things to her that she won't even tell me about. I don't even think Kero or Yue or even Yukito knows."

"And in her own time, she will come to you and tell you what they are," Meilin said softly from the doorway, a tray with tea, cups, and a plate of some sort of buttery cookies.

"Oh, I didn't see you return." Tomoyo smiled and took the tray from her, setting it gently down on her nightstand. "How long have you been there?"

"Since Eriol took a trip into the wall," she said. Syaoran grinned to match Eriol's scowl. Tomoyo only rolled her eyes.

"You should have said something." Tomoyo said, rising to take the tray from her. Meilin relinquished her grasp on the tray. Grabbing a chair, she flipped it around. Laying her arms on the top of the back, she placed her head on her hands and settled back to watch.

Tea was poured and then passed around the room. Only Meilin refused a cup.

"I think that she just needs to have more time alone… to think about everything." Eriol sighed.

"No!" Tomoyo stood abruptly from where she had taken a seat. The cookie she had been nibbling on landed on the floor, exploding into a shower of crumbs. "Sakura needs help. She needs someone to hang on to her while she's falling farther and farther into whatever she is sinking into. Whether it's depression or anger or anything, she needs someone to be there for her."

"Is there anything we **can** do?" Syaoran asked. "I mean, I don't even know what I'm supposed to do now. I want to be there for her, but I can't." His eyes darted urgently around the room. Eriol coughed and two pairs of eyes shot to him. He shook his head and waved a hand.

"There isn't anything we can do if she doesn't want us to help her." Meilin said softly, once again becoming the center of attention. "We can be there for her when she asks for us, and only then. For, now, we are limited to observing and to pray that nothing happens." Once again, her words elicited silence.

o o o o

She never should have stopped when they called her name.

She turned and smiled, covering sadness and pain with a cheerful exterior. It didn't match the hurricane billowing inside her chest. "Hey, did you want me?"

"I told you it was her," one of the boys said.

"Hey, we just wanted to talk to you… privately." The second spoke up and smiled at her.

She started to back away. "I'm already late for class… can we talk later?" Her brain was screaming at her to run. She couldn't outrun these boys. Doubt was filling her even as she stumbled blindly backwards. She turned her head just before she collided with the third boy. He grabbed her firmly around her wrist and hauled her off the ground.

"You're not going anywhere," he said with a smile. Sakura only cringed and wished her self to be small. It wasn't working in the least.

They threw her into the storage area for the gym. The class had gone outside, leaving the inside deserted. The lock was on the outside, although there was an additional lock on the inside of the room. It clicked shut shortly after the door closed. No windows or slats were in the walls. She was suffocating. The walls were closing in on her. At least the room in the hellhole called the Houses had a window. The only light source in the room was a flickering fluorescent bulb in the ceiling. It cast eerie shadows over everything. She shuddered and curled into a little ball. Her heart was racing.

One of them was holding her wrists against the top of a piece of padded equipment. Another was crushing his lips against her mouth. His tongue slipped along her face and she cringed in sheer revulsion. He slapped her as a response.

"We're not that bad."

"Yeah, all we want to do is have a little fun."

"You're used to having fun, aren't you?"

She wanted to deny it. It wasn't true at all. But, they'd never believe her. How could they know what it felt like to lose their purity to a total stranger? How could they understand what it felt like to be utterly powerless? Sex meant nothing to her anymore. She doubted that it would mean anything more than fear and pain to her ever again.

Now, Sakura looked at the boys standing around her. She didn't know any of them, but, obviously, they knew who she was. Her name had been in the news, so of course they probably had recognized it. She hadn't expected any of her classmates to do anything like this. It was the Houses all over again, but this time, she could fight back.

They had torn her clothes, ripped the necklace from around her neck. Buttons lay still, scattered about the floor; light glinting off the shiny translucent discs. The skirt she wore was rumpled and now featured small tears along its length. Her sleeve had a large tear in it. Her blouse was split from her neck to the middle of her chest, exposing her bra to the world. There was no way for her to button the shirt back up. Instead, she covered herself as best she could and huddled in the corner. Once again, the feeling of being powerless washed over her. She was drowning in it and the emotions that crashed into her brain. The floodgates opened and the Houses came pouring back into her head. She faced much worse that this each day she was there. It wouldn't beat her now. Her fist closed around the broken chain and the tiny key, and she brought her hand to her chest to further cover herself. It was there, a warm medallion of comfort. She drew strength off the fact it was there. Her only hope was that she didn't have to resort to using her magic. The results may be disastrous for her.

"Please," she said softly. "Just leave me alone."

She was alone. It was only her with three of them. They started to advance on her once again.

Her hand closed further around the key that she clutched for dear life. She could feel the contours of it. The sharper angles jabbed into the palm of her hand. Blood began to drip onto the floor. She didn't remember cutting herself. Her legs were kicking her wasy frm the boys and she felt her back thump into the wall of the small storage area. "Please," she said this time, her voice in a whisper, "I don't want to hurt you…"

o o o o

"Have any of you seen Sakura?" Yamazaki burst into the room, face knitted in concentration. He was slightly pale, and very much out of breath. The bell rang second later.

Eriol looked up at the same time Tomoyo did. "Why?" he asked, searching the room for Syaoran. If the Chinese boy knew that Sakura was missing, there would be all sorts of chaos to follow.

Yamazaki took a deep breath and expelled it through words. "Because, no one has seen her since before last period."

Two pencils rolled off the desks of their owners. Two chairs flew backwards to clatter against solemn grey tiles. Even before the sounds of chair-on-tile began to echo through the room, Eriol and Tomoyo were gone.

_( Post__ Fiction )_

Okay, so I'm leaving you guys with yet another cliff hanger, and another rather large change from the original fallen. Either way, I hope you guys don't nip to much at me heels about it. Once again, I'm sorry that this had taken so long to finish up.

Also, I'm off to college August 26! Wish me luck, everyone!

See you next update: _Ciuline__ Ihmenjo_


	17. Neo: Rift

Neo Fallen

Written by: Ciuline Ihmenjo

Card Captor Sakura does not belong to me. The characters in Card Captor Sakura do not belong to me. CLAMP owns CCS. Besides, even if you do try and sue me, I have no money.

_( Pre__ Fiction )_

SNIFFLE! I've been listed in a C2… twice (for two different stories, though), even! I can die happily now. Of course, if I did, you would all resurrect me as a zombie to finish up Fallen. Oh how we poor authors do suffer. I've been stuck on chapter 16 for so long that I think that my block transferred over to this chapter. Of course, I almost always try and wait **two weeks** to put out another chapter. In this case… I waited much longer. Sorry for that. Then again, absence makes the heart grow fonder, no? And good cliff hangers need a long time for bad speculation. A quick point to add... this chapter is a bridge to chapter 18. That means that it is short. I could not make it any longer and still preserve what I wanted for the feel of the chapter. Sorry about that and thanks for bearing with me.

Thanks to the following people for your reviews: LadyAkina; FlowerLover; Pure hope; sasori; coca24cola; Scorpinac; Helbaworshipper; Princess Yang Fa; hex; cherriblossomxz, armageddonangel; meow-mix23; divinedragon7; pnaixrose; Coniving; YNT; and Wolfpacker44.

One quick question… when you review the story, would you please write a review with some feedback for me? I know that you may just not have the time (after all, much of my reading was done between classes in high school, so I understand perfectly), but please review when you do have the time. I would appreciate that very much!

If you have any questions for me… just add them to your review and I'll try and answer them as soon as I can.

_Italicized words_ are thoughts. **Bold words** are emphasis. CAPS WORDS are shouting.

**o(****)o Rift o()o**

Syaoran could feel it every single day. There was this huge mental canyon opening between them. It was beginning to get hard to see her on the other side of it. He didn't want that at all. Her world was falling apart at the seams and she desperately wanted a way to gather it back together.

He saw the way that certain boys looked at her. Mostly, it was pity. Others afforded an almost mystical look. This girl had been through the gates of hell and had then come back to tell her tale. She had become something extraordinary in certain minds. Others saw her as weak and vulnerable. These minds were the dangerous ones. The darkness in their hearts was nearly tangible. There was little doubt in his mind that one of them would do something drastic if given the chance. Sakura would panic if confronted by one of these boys – or any boy in general, for that matter. Any amount of panic would drive her to do something more drastic. It was that drastic action that he feared the most. If she was to resort to using her power, her world would crumble from beneath her. Her powers kept her safe, but at the same time, she would attract every kind of the wrong attention by using her gift. Magic was not something that a person trifled with 'common' people. As much as he wished he could protect her, to be her knight in shining armor, he could not fit into the role. She was too afraid of him to let him defend her. Her consciousness had been implanted with a fear of men as men were her rapists. He would not let her perform her drastic action. She would not reveal her power. So he ran. He had to find her. Nothing could happen to her.

He did not want her to be swallowed by the depths of that rift. She wouldn't fall. He would make sure of that.

Tomoyo and Eriol had caught him as he raced by the cafeteria. Meilin joined the group only minutes later. High schools were much too large for one person – and a frantic person at that – to search alone.

More, they didn't trust him. He was already teetering on the edge of the brink, but he couldn't tell. All of his feelings were right. All of his emotions were right. It was just that he would go to such great lengths to protect Sakura that they feared he may to something he would very much regret.

They wouldn't lose him to whatever threatened to swallow him. Syaoran hadn't goteen a decent amount of sleep in days, and Meilin could fully attest to that. Nights were spent pacing around the room or the hallway. She could hear him from next door. He muttered constantly to himself while trying his best to wear a hole in the carpet. Plans were formulated and then tossed away. Ideas were tossed around in his brain only to be tossed aside like garbage. When he did eventually fall asleep, it was too restless to constitute a decent rest. Feet pounding against the wall… sheets torn off the bed… pillows tossed about the room. She had been there to straighten it out every morning. She had seen the physical manifestation of his frustrations. The entire group kept their eyes on him when they could spare a glance from watching Sakura. It had never occurred to any of them that Syaoran could become like this.

His brain was already screaming at him. Every day that passed was another day that Sakura seemed to slip even farther and farther away from him. For the first time in ages, Syaoran Li felt powerless. That feeling hurt him more than anything he could ever imagine. He had poured that feeling into his feet. He couldn't move any faster, but at least the thought of rescuing Sakura from whatever fate had befallen her spurred him on to push his body that much more. Skidding around the corner and down yet another hall, he had almost run headlong into Tomoyo and Eriol.

"Any luck?" asked the latter.

"No," Syaoran managed to gasp.

"And she's not picking up her phone." Tomoyo brought her hands to her face. Her normally calm composure had begun to waver and was crumbling fast. Her shoulders bobbed up and down with each breath she took.

"I can't sense her." Eriol muttered. "I want to know why her magic keeps fading." His expression was dark. "It's troubling me the most. Kaho has no answer for it, almost like Sakura is shutting herself out from the flow of magic."

"She's embarrassed," Meilin replied. "She almost doesn't want us to find her because she is ashamed. And by opening herself up, she allows any seers to view her. She doesn't want that. At least, I know that I wouldn't want that."

"Then she is in trouble?" Syaoran's breath had begun to return. He still leaned against the wall for support, the arm trembling from a combination of fatigue and frustration.

"Most likely," Eriol replied. "I would be surprised if she were to hide her magic while she was not in any sort of trouble. Although Kaho has not been able to see anything about Sakura's future since she go out of the Houses. But she's been missing for almost 30 minutes and won't pick her phone up. I'd say that means trouble."

"Or that her phone died." Tomoyo offered. "Please say that her phone died."

"I wish I could," Eriol say softly. "For now, where have we checked? I know Tomoyo and I covered the classrooms and cafeteria. Although, there is a chance we missed something."

"Did you feel that?" Syaoran said. It was a faint buzz in the back of his mind. He could feel something different and that different did not feel good. It was a sudden flare in something he hadn't sensed in a long time.

He turned sharply, eyes darting about the room. Meilin looked confused for a moment while Syaoran followed Eriol's gaze. She suddenly closed her eyes and her jaw set. Tomoyo was the only one who didn't know what was going on. Instead, she decided to try Sakura's phone again. She only was able to get the electronic message that she was growing to despise. She slapped the plastic cover shut while Eriol suddenly pointed in the direction of one of the walls.

Eriol looked at him, eyes wide. "She can't be thinking about using a card!" He swore and took off – seconds behind Syaoran – in the direction of the surge.

O o o o o O

She stood panting against a set of gym mats, her back pressed into the indigo and white colored foam and plastic. Her back was literally against the wall and she was running out of options.

Her only defense thus far had been a cart, which, by some means of luck, had stayed between her and her attackers. At some point, she had found a steel rod that she had managed to pick up during her struggles. It was clutched desperately in her right hand. Her left hand was pushing the cart between her and the boys.

One of them was on the floor with a nasty gash across his head. He was moaning softly, his hand clutching at the source of blood that was leaking out on the floor. Blood was dripping off the pipe as well. It ran in tiny drops down to her hands. She could feel the warmth spreading in her fingers. The feeling revolted her at the same time that her brain cheered his pain. He could not hurt her while he was attending to her own wounds.

Her uniform was already torn, soaked with sweat. She could feel the contours of the mats against her back. The breath of her two remaining attackers echoed in the small room.

She could hear someone banging against the door. It passed her by for a moment until she could distinctly feel two of the presences outside the metal. Her heart skipped a handful of beats and suddenly she felt weak. The hand clutching the rod went limp. The metal bar clattered against the ground. Sensing that she was distracted, one of the remaining boys made a grab at her skirt.

She felt the fabric rip, tearing off in a large chunk of navy blue in his hands. Her feet went one way while her body went the other. Balance left her, and she found her rear thumping against the ground. A sharp pain erupted in her back. Her body was falling backward until she could feel the concrete pressing against her spine. Her head bounced pathetically against the concrete floor. Stars swam before her vision. Despair flooded her brain as the grip on her clothes tightened. She tried pushing herself backward with her elbows, but it was useless. Her legs kicked frantically against the floor, unable to find a purchase.

The physical energy was draining from her body and the words were coming so easily into her mind. It was a surge of power yearning for her to use it. She could feel their comforting presence. The small slips of paper could be easily summoned to her hand. The wand could be there seconds later. She could create a way to defend herself from these things. It would be so **easy**. All she needed was to say the words. _By the power of the covenant…_

Her leg caught one of the boys in the jaw, throwing him momentarily off balance. The other remained atop her, pinning her arms to the floor. He forced a kiss and smiled at her. His hands went to her body and she felt the tears.

They were tearing her clothes off.

And all she could do was scream.

O o o o o O

Only a minute had passed in the real world, but it felt like days to Sakura. She was pressed flat on her back, her head a mass of throbbing pain. All she wanted to do was to curl up into a ball and die. But her arms were pinned over her head. He was kissing her lips, her face, her neck. She could feel his hand groping her through the cloth. She was frozen from fear and memories that contained nothing but pain. Words tumbled out of her mouth. Words without meaning and sentences without structure poured from her vocal cords. Her brain never bothered to process them, only to continue to pour them from her body. Maybe one of them would reach this boy's ears. They hadn't reached the people in the Houses, but maybe this boy had what they lacked: a conscience.

The door slammed open. She opened her mouth to cry out, "don't look!" The words died in her throat. She couldn't speak. Her breath seemed to fly from her lungs. All words ceased to exist in her mind as her brain went completely blank. The only thing she could do was cover her body and attempt to will her self to be smaller. She put actions to thoughts and sunk to the floor. Her head dropped onto her legs as she shrank into the corner.

He was panting, his fist slowly clenching until a drop of blood plummeted to the floor. As it fell, seconds stretched into minutes and minutes to even longer lengths of time. His eyes seemed to pierce the minds of every person in the room. The only sound was ragged breathing until a low growl rumbled through the room. Syaoran was at his breaking point.

And then, something happened that no one expected. Tomoyo entered the room. She strode forward, carrying with her a certain air of grace. The black bag that normally held her camera had been flung to the ground of the gym. Her hands were white at the knuckles where she clutched its contest. The minute she saw Sakura, her eyes turned to slits. The camera groaned as she clutched at it ever tighter. A soft sigh even escaped her lips.

Everyone in the room froze, even the boy atop Sakura. The other had frozen in place where he was trying to stealthily find a way out the door.

She smiled sweetly and walked calmly over to the only one still on his feet. The camera went up into the air, still wrapped in her hand. The next second, a deafening crack reverberated through the room as hundreds of dollars of electronic equipment shattered over someone's skull. A meaty thump followed while Tomoyo hissed in pain. She grabbed at her hand as blood began to run to the floor.

The remains of her camera lay shattered around the body of the boy on the floor.

Syaoran glared at the other two, but they were already more than halfway out the door. He didn't even have to move before the remaining two took off running. He could hear Meilin shouting at them as the rushed past. She even got a good punch off on one because he stumbled and ran faster, gripping his shoulder.

Sakura remained in her little ball on the floor. She had managed to back into a corner formed by two shelves. Her heart was racing. Her breath was coming in ragged gasps. She wished it was all a dream, but it hurt too much to be a nightmare. "Go away… go away… go away…" She was so embarrassed. The heat was rising to her cheeks. She didn't want them to see her so vulnerable.

"Are you okay?" Syaoran made his way over to the trembling mass beneath a shelf holding basketball equipment. His hand was extended in a friendly manner and his eyes showed genuine concern.

Sakura couldn't see any of that. Her vision was fading away as something took over her body.

The next thing she knew, her legs had sent her flying at him. She slammed into him, taking him by surprise as he fell to the ground. Her fists slammed into his head. One found his eye, the other found his jaw. She didn't stop swinging. The only thought in her mind is that it wouldn't happen again.

_( Post__ Fiction )_

Before I forget, did anyone notice my new breaks? Cute little buggers, aren't they? Actually, because word keeps auto-correcting my previous little o into a capital O, I decided to just tack another O onto the end of the break to keep the symmetry. Neat, huh? In fact, you probably don't care and are planning ways to rotten tomato the author for babbling about scene breaks instead of the story.

Once again, I'm sorry that my update too so long!

See you next update: _Ciuline__ Ihmenjo_


	18. Neo: Mend

Broken Wings

Written by: Ciuline Ihmenjo

Card Captor Sakura does not belong to me. The characters in Card Captor Sakura do not belong to me. CLAMP owns CCS. Besides, even if you do try and sue me, I have no money.

_Pre-fiction…_

This work of fiction is dedicated to Stephen Morris: 1988 – 2005. You were a good friend, a great writer, and an even better person. This world and all your friends will miss you dearly. If you are reading this from where ever you are, please do so with a smile on your face. Life is too short to live on regrets… so, to my readers, please live the life you choose while walking that path beaten by your own two feet.

Thank you to the following people for your reviews (which wasn't really as much as I expected and all, but hey… we are all busy, no?): LastMesern, pnaixrose, Death Bringer the Angel, cherriblossomxz, coca24cola, Helbaworshipper, FlowerLover, Pure hope, hex, Scorpinac, Armageddon Angel, and LadyAkina.

I really getting used to a series of usual reviews, with the occasional review from this somewhat-random person or somewhat-random people. Thank you all for your support!

If you have any questions for me… just add them to your review and I'll try and answer them as soon as I can.

_Italicized words_ are thoughts. **Bold words** are emphasis. CAPS WORDS are shouting.

**o()o Mend o()o**

"Sakura, STOP!"

Someone was screaming… screaming her name. Someone was screaming at her. The words didn't register in her mind, only the thought that she could save herself. For once, she would not be helpless, and she would be safe. All she needed to do was to keep swinging her arms.

"SAKURA!"

She could hear the voice in the back of her mind. It was tinny and distant, sounding very much like a muffled radio being played miles away. _PRESERVATION!_ She could only think about saving herself. **_It_** _would not happen again._ She would ensure that.

"Sakura, please, listen to me! Stop it!"

Someone was tugging on one of the straps of her bra. The image of someone ripping her shirt from her body suddenly flashed in her mind, and she squeezed her eyes shut. The image would not go away. She wanted to be rid of it. Every second since she had been throw into this room flashed lividly in her mind, just as it was happening at that very instant.

She paused from pounding her target, jerking her shoulder forward and ripping the white cotton strap from the weak grasp of the person holding it. Something snapped against her back – the fact that it was her bra strap momentarily forgotten – and she hissed with pain. It was then that something actually grabbed her from behind. She panicked. Her body moved on its own, turning her around and tangling her hands about the person even as she was hauled to her feet. Her mind was still telling her to swing and to not stop swinging until she could no longer swing. She felt her arms and fists connect with whoever had her clutched in a bear hug.

The voices in her head did not want her to stop. The voices wanted her to be safe. They drowned out any opposition.

Fleeing was no longer an option. Flight was weak. Flight lead to pain after it caught up with her. She had run in the Houses and ended up crying and struggling while someone held her down. Running away had placed her in this hell. All she could do was fight. Fighting would free her from her hell. Only by confronting her pursuers would she ever truly be able to escape. _Strike… Strike! STRIKE!_

The shadow before her spun quickly away, the motion carrying it away from her. Sakura still swung. She felt something smack into her arm and then grab her wrist. It pulled her forward, and she felt something brush against her shoulder. Her body went forward, but her feet did not follow. Then her arm was wrenched up and behind her back. She toppled forward to find her cheek pressed into a gym mat. Light blues and creamy whites stretched out before her vision.

"Let me go!" she cried out. "Please… let me go… please… please don't…"

Her will to fight was draining from her body. It seeped from her pores like water in a sieve. With each passing second, she wanted to curl up and fade away. **_They_** _would not take her again. **It** would not happen again._

"It's okay." The voice was distinctly female. "They're all gone now. No one here is going to hurt you." Whoever it was released the grip on her arm. Sakura could feel the tremors in her arms finally beginning to subside.

"Where are they?" she managed to rasp. Her throat was raw, her mouth dry. Her body still wouldn't stop shaking. Even so, her tremors had began to pass to little quivers that ran through her entire form each time she thought of moving. The whole room seemed to be shrinking, the walls closing in on her. It was getting hard to breath. Claustrophobia. Small spaces. She wanted to be out of there, but her legs wouldn't respond to her commands. Her arms wouldn't respond to her commands. Her vision shook with each little spasm that racked her body. She could feel a wetness running down her cheeks. When she finally was able to reach up and feel her face, the hand came away warm and salty from fresh tears she had not remembered shedding. And still her body trembled.

O o o o o O

The first thought in Syaoran's mind when he sat up was to record the license plate of the truck that had hit him. The next though was how to control the wave of nausea that shot straight into his brain. It traveled from stomach to brain and then to gag reflex. Something was running down his face towards his lips. The only hope in his mind was that it wasn't vomit as he was distinctly aware of the other occupants of the room. He coughed as three pairs of eyes focused on him. The owner of one pair thudded neatly into the chest of the girl behind her.

His head hurt. His body hurt. Hell, everything hurt.

"Is Sakura alright?" he croaked. Instantly, his face displayed a grimace – partially from not recognizing the sounds that emerged from his mouth. It sounded very much not like what he wanted to say, but he supposed that the meaning would come across. In reality, all that reached his ears was a series of high-pitched rasps that could have been his voice. He closed his eyes and shook his head to try and clear the fog that was beginning to settle over his brain, but to no avail. Speaking – or at least attempting to form words – increased the pain in leaps and bounds. He actually saw spots forming all around his field of vision. "Is she?"

"Yeah, she's okay." Meilin nodded from behind Sakura where she had gently placed her hands on the girl's shoulders. "I'm not sure if I can say the same about you."

"Which one of them hit me?" The sounds that came out were still recognizable as human speech, but only after being broadcasted over thick interference. He wiped at his face, grazing a split lip. The nausea returned and he retched on the floor. Nothing came up but spittle. He winced and plopped onto the ground.

"Actually," Meilin winced visibly before extending a finger in Sakura's direction, "she hit you."

"What?" He found it extremely difficult to keep the surprised expression off his face.

"She. Hit. You." Meilin said matter-of-factly. "I don't know why, but I had to peel her off your body before she turned your face into ground beef. You look pretty banged up."

It was a gross understatement. In a matter of minutes, Syaoran's face had been morphed into a mass of discolorations in shades of purples, blacks, blues, and a wide variety of reds. His left eye was swollen shut and a number of cuts had opened up around his cheeks. Blood was smeared in streaks about his entire face, some of which still glistened in the light. He looked like he had slammed into the ground, and felt much worse.

"You should go home," Tomoyo said softly. "I think we can—"

"What happened to your face?" Eriol chose that exact moment to wander into the room. Sakura let out a muffled squeak while Tomoyo made little shooing motions with her hands. As Sakura pressed back further into Meilin's body, Tomoyo's hand motions became more urgent.

"Sakura," Syaoran muttered, still trying to figure out the location of the source of the blood still dripping on the storage room floor. From what he could tell by the puddle that had begun to slowly increase in size, his entire face had to be oozing blood. He had pulled out a handkerchief and was blotting at his nose. A grimace settled over his features, and he squeezed his eyes shut. For the moment, he was content to lean on the wall least he fall over.

Tomoyo's gaze had focused on Eriol and then remained there, eyes narrowed in an expression that he had grown to know as frustration.

"OUT!" she exclaimed, finger extended in the direction of the door. She glared at him for a moment more and rushed at him. Two hands were placed on his chest and she shoved him gently from the room.

"I'm going! I'm going!" he managed to protest before she turned neatly on one heel and walked back into the room.

"Sakura," she said softly, approaching the still-trembling girl. "It's okay now." Sakura lunged at Tomoyo, wrapping her arms around her friend's neck. Sakura began to cry, her head buried in her friend's shoulder. Tomoyo's eye remained wide for a moment before she began to make shushing noises. "It's okay now," she murmured while gently stroking Sakura's hair, "let's go home."

O o o o o O

Syaoran didn't return to school the next day, or for the rest of the week for that matter. Meilin managed to cover for him, saying that it was something to do with family business. In fact, he did manage to make some time for dealing with the smaller affairs that his mother had assigned him, but most time was spend resting and trying to keep his expression neutral, lest his face break out into waves of pain.

Trips to the doctors were few and far between. The only time that he did end up going was on Meilin's urgings to get some much-needed stitches. As much as he trusted Wei with a needle and thread, he didn't trust anyone without a license to attempt sewing up his face.

The rest of his time was spent in meditation. At least, what little time he managed to grab for himself between paperwork, schoolwork, and housework. Sakura appeared in a good majority of his thoughts, but every time, she seemed to be farther and farther away from him. He didn't want to lose her, but he didn't know how to get he back. Her situation was not something that occurred on a daily basis, and no person should ever have to go through such a series of events. Even then, he knew this organization was like the darkest spot in the shadows – hidden and elusive.

When he did come back to class almost a week later, there were still a few bandages on his face. At least he had not broken his nose nor had Sakura managed to break any part of his body. Or any part of her body for that matter. There was nothing further of her self that she had managed to break. But she was still broken on the inside. That was what troubled him the most. It was what was troubling them all the most.

Syaoran knew that he would do whatever he could in order to fix her. He knew that in the depths of his heart. If there was anything he could do in order to return Sakura back to her old, cheerful self, he would do it.

O o o o o O

Sakura forced a smile as Tomoyo sat down across from her. Classes had been let out for the day, and she had managed yet again to escape the crowd of people that swarmed her when she at lunch her first day back. Since then, she had sacrificed a hot lunch for a lukewarm one in order to keep her thoughts and self separate. Some days, Tomoyo would come, but most of the time, chorus practices interfered with those plans. It was Fridays that she usually could find the time to sneak away. The shade of the tree above them was the perfect escape from the abnormally high heat of an abnormal late autumn. Sakura was currently picking through a bento, poking at the pile of rice in one of the compartments.

"It looks fake," Tomoyo said before pulling out her own lunch. "It's rather obvious."

"I'm trying," Sakura muttered, jabbing particularly hard at the mass of white. A dull clink sounded when her chopsticks penetrated through and tapped the bottom of the aluminum box. "It's really hard to be happy when you really aren't"

"Then stop trying to be," Tomoyo replied. "It's not like people are expecting you to be okay and all better after just these few weeks."

"But I feel like they are," she whined. Finally, she grabbed a clump of rice and popped it – almost viscously – into her mouth. She chewed thoughtfully on it and gazed out over the fields where a few of the sports teams had begun to practice.

"We just want you to be yourself. And if that means that you aren't happy, then so be it." Tomoyo let out a deep sigh and popped the top off her own bento. "We will all be here to help you become happy again."

Sakura looked up. "But will I ever be happy again? I mean, I can barely stand to be in the same room as a guy, let alone talk to him." She shook her head, the honey-brown locks whipping about her face. "I want to tell Syaoran so much… but I can't even speak to him!"

"Tell me and I'll talk to him for you. Or write a note to him or something. Just try anything, that's all that anyone wants of you."

"I… I can't." She flung her arms in the air, both hands clenched into fists.

"Why?"

A sob preceded her words. "Because… I don't know… I really don't know."

"Then let us help you."

"NO!" she cried out. "It's not that easy!" Sakura's body jerked before she leapt to her feet. Her back hit the tree and she closed her eyes as she sank back down to the ground. The lunch bounced away, spilling its contents to the ants and worms. To Tomoyo's shocked face, she smiled softly. They both knew it was a false expression, but they stilled continued to watch each other. Neither broke from the deception or allowed the other to realize the acknowledgement of such. Finally, Sakura cleared her throat. "I'm sorry…" she began quietly, "I didn't mean it that way."

"I know. I didn't say that it was easy." Tomoyo began to gather the contents of the fallen metal box, placing bits of brown-flecked food into it once she picked up the container. "I really understand. But I don't know what is going on in your head. None of us do. You won't let us. We could help you more if you'd allow us to do so." She dusted her clothes off and stood, the slightly-dented bento covered and extended in her hands.

"I don't know how to. I'm afraid something terrible will happen if I tell you."

"Like what?" Tomoyo shook her head. "We're not going to disappear or anything, Sakura. We will be here for you; you can count on that."

"I…" She stopped and started digging the toe of her shoe into the ground before her. "Thanks?"

Tomoyo let out a soft chuckle and shook her head. "That's what friends are for." Sakura took the bento and stuffed it into her bag. "You know that eventually you have to get over this… or at least, things will begin to get better at some point."

"We can only hope…" Sakura's tone was dour and she hoisted her bag onto her shoulder. "I have to go now." She began walking down the hill when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Her feet left the ground and she almost went tumbling down the slope. Then she heard Tomoyo speak up from behind her.

"You should come with us to the mall this weekend." Tomoyo gingerly released her grip on her friend's shoulder and crossed her arms over her chest. "It may help you to get your mind off things. If anything, it will expose you to more of the outside world than the walk to and from school."

Sakura snorted before raising an eyebrow. "Wait… us?"

She held out a hand and ticked off names on her fingers. "Basically, it would be Meilin, Syaoran, Eriol and myself. Why, is there something wrong with that?" At Syaoran and Eriol's names, Sakura gave an involuntary cringe. It definitely did not escape Tomoyo's attention. "You can try talking to him. You can even attempt to be in the same room as him. If everything is bad as you say it is, we can always split up and let the boys go off and do their thing." Her eyes narrowed and her left eye twitched for a second. "Although, I'm sure that putting Eriol and Syaoran alone with each other for any amount of time wouldn't qualify as the best idea." She shrugged. "But I'm sure they'd spend any amount of time with each other if it made you feel better."

"They would?" Sakura sounded as skeptical as she looked.

"Yes, they would." The words came out in an almost exasperated tone, but Tomoyo knew better than to begin losing her patience. Instead, she placed the top over her food and began to gather up the rest of her belongings. "But for now, I have to get home to begin working on a few projects that I have lying around the house."

Sakura looked over at her and watched her. A small sigh escaped her lips before she plopped down on the grass. "You know," she said softly, "you didn't have to save your lunch until the end of the day."

"Yes, but I knew you'd need the company." Tomoyo wrapped her own box in the red and white checkered cloth, tying it into a nice knot. "And that you'd feel bad if you were eating while I wasn't. You do need the food." Her chopsticks were wrapped in a similar cloth print which she then deposited in the pocket of the jacket draped over her arm.

Sakura hugged her knees to her chest, her eyes scanning the fields below them. "Thank you," she said, letting the wind carry her voice.

"Anytime," Tomoyo replied. "Just consider my offer. It'll be good for you." She took a deep breath and smiled. "You could get some of your Christmas shopping out of the way." She extended a hand. "Care to have some company for your walk home?"

Sakura took the proffered hand and pulled herself upright. "Yeah, that does sound nice."

_Post-fiction…_

Sorry that these chapters are taking so long, but I had to change this chapter around once I realized that I wouldn't have time for another chapter between now and Christmas, where I plan to post my first "Christmas" chapter. I'm doing something for this fiction as you might have gathered, so be on the lookout for the next chapter sometime around December 24, 2005 – December 25, 2005!

See you next update: _Ciuline_ _Ihmenjo_


	19. Neo: Flurries

Fallen Neo

Written by: Ciuline Ihmenjo

Card Captor Sakura does not belong to me. The characters in Card Captor Sakura do not belong to me. CLAMP owns CCS. Besides, even if you do try and sue me, I have no money.

_Pre-fiction…_

Reviews waning… Author sensing fan appreciation going down… Stress level rising… GAAAAHHHHH!

Sorry about that sudden outburst, but it seemed odd to me that I have gotten so few reviews for the last few chapters in comparison to what I had been getting. Ah well, that should be the least of my concerns after going through college exam hell week. Piss to exams and their stupid testiness. Yes, I just used testiness the completely wrong way. Don't sue me over it… and if you need a reason, see disclaimer.

Thanks to the following readers for your reviews: pnaixrose; dbzgtfan2004; LastMesren; divinedragon7; coca24cola; Armageddon Angel; meow-mix23; Helbaworshipper; FlowerLover, Scorpinac; Purehope; and Coniving

MarineBrotherShuran… only chapter 8? You're a ways behind :P

And, pnaixrose, thanks for your review on the second chapter of Covered in Rain!

Last but not least, bugger that this story is a few days late, but I had lots of work to do (have to get money, y'know). In addition, I've been having a grand sort of writer's block lately. Hopefully a series of one-shots I'm doing will cure that.

If you have any questions for me… just add them to your review and I'll try and answer them as soon as I can.

_Italicized words_ are thoughts. **Bold words** are emphasis. CAPS WORDS are shouting.

**o()o Flurries o()o**

The snow just outside her window was falling in tiny flurries, sending little clouds of white dancing along on the breeze. She wanted to be outside in that. She wanted to run in the snow and play in the purity of it all, but she couldn't. She felt so unclean that, at times, it made her want to hurl. Besides, the warmth of her own room allowed her to think. The white specks pattered against her window, making tinny little pecks as they hit the glass. As much as she wished for them to stop, she didn't want to use her magic for something so trivial. And why would she be so selfish as to ruin everyone else's fun just because she couldn't enjoy the snow?

The answer simply was that she was not that type of person. As much as she felt like she was suffering, she didn't want others to have to suffer with her.

Furthermore, Eriol would probably come running if she activated her magic on that large of a scale. Dealing with Eriol was not one of the ideas that stuck out in her mind. She did not want to have any sort of confrontation with the reincarnation of Clow, if only for the sole reason that she would be treading very awkward waters. Of course, what Eriol did not know was that she had been using her magic the entire time. It helped her to get through the day. Illusion replaced her haggard appearance with a more acceptable – at least in her mind – look.

She sighed and sat before the mirror.

The emptiness of her room also allowed her the solitude she needed to sort through her problems. These problems were not something a councilor could help her through. And the councilor the hospital had assigned to her was living proof of this fact. She didn't understand, and possibly could never understand. You couldn't just assign a diagnosis to rape and hand out pills to the patient. Rape was not something you could just put behind you like it never happened. Rape was not something that you just got over all of a sudden. It took time. It took lifetimes of time. Sakura didn't think she'd ever completely get over it. But at least now she actually felt like fighting it. She wanted to confront it now instead of running away. She could not run away any more.

Her room also allowed her to be without the guise with which she had become so familiar. With a sigh, she stepped in front of her mirror and fished the little pendant from beneath her shirt. Her image in the mirror fluttered for a moment from where her hand met her shirt. Summoning the sealing staff to her hands, she gripped it tightly. Her grip was so tight that her knuckles began to turn white. "Illusion, dispel this falsity which guises my form."

Wisps of magic peeled away from her body as the card's magic dispersed.

The face that stared back at her from the glass was not the same as it had been only seconds before. In fact, it was completely different. Her eyes were sunken and red rimmed. Hollowed out cheeks and unkempt hair marred her appearance. She knew she had lost weight, but how much, she did not know. Her shirts didn't fit her so well now, more hanging off her body rather than fitting it. Illusion was barely enough, but somehow, it managed to suffice. But as the illusion unraveled, her expression seemed like a large weight had been removed from her shoulders.

After all, her magic could protect her, couldn't it?

Only, she wasn't able to fend them off that day. Her magic hadn't helped her. In fact, her magic had been little more than a dribble that day. She had not been able to put up a barrier in time to prevent them from taking her. From touching her. From using her. She could only lie beneath them as they began ripping her clothes off. But she had fought back and triumphed. Only after learning Syaoran's fate did she agree to use her magic as she had been using it.

The strangest thing was that it had not put any strain on her.

Using Illusion since she got out of the hospital. Using Illusion to trick the doctors into believing that she was 100 better. Using Illusion to hide her haggard appearance. None of it had managed to wear her down or to make her tired. Kero was the only one who knew that she was doing such. Although, she suspected that Yukito knew, for Yue was far too perceptive of a guardian to not know the actions of his mistress – even those done in secret. Of course, there were times when the guise began to slip, but she usually just had a little snack – compliments of Sweet – or took a moment to adjust– compliments of Time. Time was risky because Eriol and Syaoran had to know she was using it.

They **had** to know.

The only problem was, even with that extreme measure, they had no idea.

O o o o o O

The sound of the phone ringing woke her so suddenly that she almost fell out of her chair. Her bleary gaze settled first on her alarm clock, and not finding the noise there, she looked over at the pink plastic thing that Tomoyo had given her a lifetime ago. A sigh passed through her lips as she groped for the object. Picking it up without even bothering to glance at the flashing ID text on the front display, she managed a weary hello.

"Sakura," the voice said. She recognized it as Tomoyo.

"Yes?" she managed to croak, taking a moment to take a sip from the glass of water Kero proffered. The tiny guardian went back to his video games only after making sure she took a few sips.

"Are you still free tonight?"

"Huh?" Sakura said, momentarily racking her brain.

"The mall? Shopping for Christmas?" Tomoyo's voice was beginning to sound almost panicked. "Don't tell me you forgot!"

"I didn't forget," Sakura sighed, running a hand through her hair. A few strands fluttered down to the bed. She made a face at them. "It just took me a few seconds to remember."

"It's good that some things just don't change," Tomoyo said. A crash echoed in the background followed by muffled swearing.

"Hoe?"

"Eriol and Spinel are over. They tried to dump Nakuru on Touya… but he managed to drop her into a taxi. So, she came over and is torturing poor Spinel. It's a good thing that mother is out today and I told the maids not to disturb us."

"Eriol?" Sakura questioned.

"Yes, the one and only." Tomoyo giggled as the swearing increased in timbre. "He wanted to make cookies for you."

"Why is he at your house?" _More importantly, why am I so concerned? Eriol wouldn't hurt Tomoyo… not ever._

"Nakuru broke his sometime last week." A string of loud swearing echoed in the room followed by a dull clang and a fit of coughing.

"Oh." Sakura chuckled, remembering the last time Nakuru had touched the idea of baking cookies that they has ended up like many of Meilin's cake projects… black enough to make charcoal green with envy.

"Personally," her voice lowered to a whisper, "I think he's using it as an excuse to come over and see me." She giggled again at something in the background. "It's beyond cute if you ask me. He could have fixed it days ago, but he keeps putting it off."

"Oh," she repeated. "What time should I meet you?"

There was a thoughtful pause before Tomoyo responded. "How about four o'clock? That should give you time to get ready and eat something. We can probably stop by a restaurant on the way back or even pick up something there. I'm pretty that Eriol would pay for everything. Actually, it was his offer in the first place…"

"Eriol?" Sakura squeaked, interrupting her friend. She had known that he was possibly and probably coming, but actually knowing that he would be had just settled on her mind. "What about Syaoran?" She looked up, taking a moment to ensure that Illusion was still resting. The poor Card must have been exhausted with all the work she had been making it do lately.

"Yes, you didn't forget they were coming, did you?" Tomoyo shouted something to the other occupants of the room and silence reigned once again.

"No, but…"

"Sakura," Tomoyo said with a sigh, "you need this."

"I…" she pursed her lips together, "I'd rather not."

"Please?" Tomoyo pleaded. "Please, just do it for me?" Silence followed and the noise in the background resumed.

Sakura bit her lower lip nervously. "I…"

"Sakura… please?"

Silence reigned with an occasional clatter of something metal hitting a tile floor in the background breaking it. In the meanwhile, Sakura had begun to chew softly on her lower lip, her eyes narrowed in thought. Tomoyo remained silent throughout, allowing her friend the time needed to make this decision.

"I… I'll go," she said finally.

"I'll be there at four to pick you up. Meilin will be with me." Tomoyo's voice sounded rather cheerful. Another crash echoed from the background. Sakura momentarily wondered exactly how much cooking was going on there. "We'll even send the boys ahead!" Tomoyo added.

Sakura only sighed.

"Sakura?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks." A soft click followed and the dial tone rang clearly in her ears.

O o o o o O

When the doorbell rang at five minutes until four o'clock, Sakura was just running down the hall out of the shower. Touya answered the door to let both Meilin and Tomoyo into the hallway. Poking his head out the door, he looked for the rest of the entourage, and, upon finding that it was lacking, gave a quick shrug.

"Hey," he said softly, "I appreciate you guys doing this."

Meilin looked at Kero hovering just over Yukito's shoulder as both of them chatted about something over a pot of what looked to be soup. "What's the plush toy doing out of her room?" she whispered urgently to Tomoyo.

"I heard that!"

Meilin ignored him. "And why is it talking to Yukito?"

Touya glanced over in the direction of the couch. "Because," he flashed an annoyed look at the tiny guardian, "I found him trapped in the fridge, half-frozen, attempting to eat a slice of cake."

"I was not trapped!" the tiny guardian retorted, momentarily forgetting Meilin's comment. "I so could have gotten out of there any time that I wanted to." His tone switched to something much dreamier. "It was just that the cake was calling my name. 'Oh Kero,' it said, 'savor my vanilla goodness!'" Touya rolled his eyes while Yukito snorted.

"She's late as usual," Touya mumbled. "Though, I'm really glad that she's finally getting out of the house. She's usually cooped up in her room and I don't see her except for meals and when she's doing something for school."

"You know she quit her extracurricular stuff?" Kero asked. "She talked to the coach and quit cheerleading and stopped doing her afternoon runs."

"She's been through a lot, but she doesn't seem to be recovering as quickly as any of us anticipated," Yukito added. Kero nodded in agreement as he and Yukito shared a quick look that said they knew more than they were letting on.

"I agree," Tomoyo said. "I'm sure she hasn't really had any time to just be herself. At school she has to focus so much of her attention on class and everyone around her. If anything, the combination is probably suppressing her ability to recover."

"So maybe a trip to the mall could help her to loosen up?" Touya nodded as he spoke. "Yeah, I see how that could help."

"It could do the exact opposite," Kero muttered. "Hopefully, it won't." His usually cheerful manner turned dour. "She needs to stop using—"

He was cut off at Sakura's impeccable timing when she thundered down the stairs.

"Hoe!" Sakura wailed, "I'm late!" Her arms were flailing as she skidded to a stop. A shiver traversed her spine as she felt the eyes of everyone in room upon her. She even shrank away from Yukito and Touya, moving as far away from them as she could without causing an inconvenience to either herself or anyone around her. Only, Tomoyo still had her eyes on Kero, her gaze begging him to finish. He was too distracted to notice her.

Finally, Touya spoke up. "Sounds like a monster stomping around as usual." Sakura shot an irritated glare in his direction and headed for the door. Meilin followed, calling out to her, while Tomoyo gathered up their belongings.

"When do you expect to be back?"

"Some time tonight," Tomoyo replied. "We'll probably pick up something at a local restaurant before heading back."

"Are you sure?" Touya question, shaking his head. "She's jumpy enough about this trip to the mall as it is…"

"But she'll be alright." Tomoyo flashed her best smile. "Besides, we have Syaoran and Eriol with us. Both of whom are well qualified to fend off anyone who tries to bother Sakura."

"It's those two who I am afraid of. I just don't want to push this much on her so quickly."

"I'm the one doing the pushing," Tomoyo muttered, grabbing her bag and slinging it over her shoulder. "Sakura has been pushed in the past and will be pushed in the future. Right now, she needs to do something other than go to school and sit in her room. A night out is perfect for her."

"Just don't let anything happen to her."

"You have my word," Tomoyo said. "And you have Eriol and Syaoran's words as well."

Touya only sighed and went back to join Kero, Yukito, and the now-boiling pot on the stove.

O o o o o O

"Give it up," Meilin said from inside the store. "We're taking you to get clothes whether you like it or not."

Eriol continued to pull in the other direction. "The last time Tomoyo took me shopping, we were in the store until the manager had to push us out." Heads were turning their direction as he braced himself against the doorframe. The beginnings of a crowd were beginning to develop.

Said Tomoyo was currently pushing his from behind while Meilin continued to tug on his sleeve. "Because the store was closing and it took me a good hour to drag you into it!" Tomoyo exclaimed. "You can't look like a gentleman all the time!" She gave him a hard shove.

Even with the combined strength of both of them, Eriol was not budging. Even the cashiers had stopped to watch the debacle. Meilin gave another tug and Eriol's defenses began to crumble. His feet slide further into the store and his hands began to loose their precious grip on the doorframe.

Syaoran, in the meantime, had thoughtfully taken Sakura well away from the current scene, wishing Eriol luck as he led the frightened girl away. Even though this event had been planned (and Eriol's defiance at clothes shopping was 100 genuine), Syaoran still didn't feel right about it. Yes, he did want to have time alone with Sakura, but he didn't want to place unnecessary pressure on her. Even as he was leading her away, he would be content just to let her have a seat in a secluded area while he watched her calm her nerves.

She was still shaking as he led her to a balcony overlooking a large fountain in the middle of the mall. At this point, she broke away from him, shoving him away from her. Hard. He almost toppled over the railing while she sought the sanctuary of a wooden bench near the railing. She sank down in it and her head thumped against the brass plating.

"Are you okay?" he asked. A quick glance over at the clothing store showed the Eriol was sprawled on the ground, the crowd surrounding them quickly dissipating. Tomoyo gave him a quick okay sign before literally dragging Eriol into the store. He disappeared from sight with a slight yelp.

She looked away first and the stared at the ground. "No."

"Can I do anything?"

"You can go away."

"I'm not going to. You should know that better than anyone."

"Why won't you leave me alone?" she asked softly.

"That is the last thing you need right now." He shook his head softly.

"Because I was raped?"

"Because you're hurt."

"I AM NOT," she cried out. "Nothing is wrong. Nothing was wrong to begin with."

"Then why do you spend hours locked in your room?" He pointed an accusing finger in her direction, but still kept his distance. "Why do you run away from every guy at school? Why is it that when I touch you on the shoulder, your entire body shakes?" His fist connected with the railing. A metallic ping rang eerily through the air. "Sakura, you are not okay."

"I am, too," she retorted.

"Will you at least talk to Tomoyo?"

She looked up finally. "Do you understand?"

"No."

"I don't think you ever could."

"Damn it!" He hit the railing again, this time putting a rather large dent in it. "Then make me understand! Help me to understand!"

She shrunk away from him and moved to the other side of the bench. "You scare me," she said softly. "They all scare me."

"Who?"

"You, Eriol, Yamazaki… everyone scares me." She sniffled. "I know that you would never hurt me in a million years. I know that in my heart. But I don't think that my body knows that… I don't think my brain has come to terms with that. It's because… because…" She trailed off and began tracing patterns on the wooden planks of the bench.

"Then try and trust us…"

"Syaoran," she sniffled again and then wiped her eyes with the sleeve of the jacket she was wearing. "It's not that easy. It will never be that easy. Do you think that I haven't tried?"

"No, but—"

"But nothing," she said. "I can't talk to anyone. That councilor at the hospital doesn't understand a damn thing I say. Rape is not something that I can just put aside like a light tap on the head or something like that. This is not something that I can just ignore!" Syaoran opening his mouth to interrupt, but she held up a hand. "I can't talk to anyone. Tomoyo blames herself for everything that happened, even though this was my decision. Yes, she would have gone through what I had gone through if I had let her go like she asked, but then it would be her crying on this bench in front of Eriol instead of me crying here in front of you."

"Then tell her that."

"She doesn't understand. You don't understand." She shut her eyes and tilted her head back toward the ground. "I don't think that anyone could or would be able to understand what is going on in my head."

"Then I'll try! I'll try to understand. Just give me a chance!"

"You're part of the problem."

The comment seemed to throw him for a loop. "Listen, if this is because I'm—"

"It's because you are you, Syaoran Li, not because you area guy."

He stared at her, open-mouthed, and tried to respond. The downcast manner in which she was staring at her feet didn't help at all.

"It's because every night I was there, I thought about you. I thought, maybe Syaoran will come and save me. I truly believed that you were going to suddenly appear and rescue me like a knight in shining armor. It's because every man that did something to me, I imagined your face on his body and it made things better. Because then it wasn't some stranger forcing me to have sex, it was you… " She let out a hushed sob. "It was you…" she repeated softly. Tears were streaming down her face when she looked up. "I felt so helpless and dirty and ashamed that I sought out the only island of hope that I could imagine."

"Sakura…"

"That's right. You were my barrier that kept the insanity away from me. I dreamed of you… of you breaking and fading away from me forever and it scared me. It scared me half to death."

"I'm not going to leave you!"

"I know that, but I'm so afraid of what I've become… of what those pe… those men did to me that I feel as if everything that I did before now what for nothing." She choked back a sob and began rubbing her face frantically with her sleeve.

"Here." He was leaning out over the banister, much closer to her than she cared to remember. One arm was extended towards her, a white kerchief in his hand.

She snatched it away from him and began honking into it. Once she had finished, she folded it neatly and placed it in her bag.

"Please, Sakura… put some trust in us. Do it for me, for Tomoyo… for yourself." He sighed softly and turned so he was leaning with his back against the rail. His eyes met hers and they both looked hastily away.

She looked up at him, eyes blazing with emotions that were so complicated that even she could not give them a name. "Why do you care so much?"

"Because," he said softly, meeting her gaze, "I love you."

_Post-fiction…_

Hope you guys had a Merry Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanza/Festivus/whatever the heck you celebrate. Don't hurt yourselves over the break and please take some time off your busy schedule and gift opening to toss some reviews my stocking. Flames will be used to warm the author's cold house. Good reviews will go towards cheering the author up from the post-exam depression.

See you next update: _Ciuline_ _Ihmenjo_


	20. Neo: Daze

Fallen Neo

Written by: Ciuline Ihmenjo

Card Captor Sakura does not belong to me. The characters in Card Captor Sakura do not belong to me. CLAMP owns CCS. Besides, even if you do try and sue me, I have no money.

_Pre-fiction…_

First and foremost… I have a joint fiction with Candyland. Hurrah for that!

It's coming together bit by bit. We've released the first chapter of the story we have dubbed "Splinters" and, since she's the more "senior author," we decided to release the chapter under her penname rather than mine to ensure that more people would read it. Hopefully this fact is true. Please review her just as you would review me.

The link for it is here: www(dot)fanfictiondot(net)/s/2800079/1/

With that out of the way, I find it a bit disturbing that I got more reviews for chapter 19 in the first two days than I got for chapter 18 in almost a month. I find that very very odd, indeed. Now I must figure out the system of posting to ensure maximum reviewage. Yes, I just used the word "reviewage" and I know that it is not a real word. I make up words just like the rest of us. Poor Webster must be crying in his grave.

Thanks to the following people for their reviews (a few comments as well): Helbaworshipper, Coniving, FlowerLover, Baby K, Pure hope, Spirit Dancer, Armageddon Angel (you write so beautifully!), meow-mix23, the troublesome twins (so nice to get new reviewers), coca24cola (and to retain very old ones), MewMewPower, Scorpinac (don't worry, I'll keep up with this one), divinedragon7, and finally icekweem23 (holy hell, you practically wrote me story for a review… but thanks for finally reading it)

Thank you all so much for putting up with my long breaks. If you have any questions for me… just add them to your review and I'll try and answer them as soon as I can.

_Italicized words_ are thoughts. **Bold words** are emphasis. CAPS WORDS are shouting.

**o()o Daze o()o**

His confession hit her like a brick at millions of trillions of miles per hour. She felt the breath leave her chest and her lungs seemed to collapse as in a single moment. The wall between them began to crumble. It only lasted a moment as the feeling that her chest was shrinking returned and her world spiraled back down into the infinite depths from which it has risen. She gasped, quickly covering her mouth and looked away, but the feeling lingered like wisps of smoke from a snuffed candle, threatening to burst forth from her soul in an explosion so great, she feared it would tear her apart. She couldn't calm down. Her heart was pounding in her chest.

The words seemed to permeate the air around her. She wanted to escape them, to rewind time so she wouldn't have to hear them. Even if she wished to use her powers, she feared that with him in such close proximity, he would certainly sense her activating her powers, and at least he would notice the summoning wand. Perhaps he would even retain his memory of the incident. There were too many factors that she did not wish to deal with.

He was looking at her strangely, now, his face merely inches away from her own. Her heart fluttered, skipping a beat, and she could not for the life of her figure out why. Part of her wanted to run away, another part wanted to cry, another wanted to hit him in the face, but every part of her was at war with the other parts of her and she couldn't do anything to remedy the situation. So, she just sat on the bench and began staring at the ground again.

"I know," Sakura said softly, not bothering to raise her head.

"Then why can't things change?" he asked.

"Things are different." She leaned back against the railing until her head thumped against the brass pole. "I'm not the same as I used to be."

He tried to catch her gaze but failed. "You're still Sakura Kinomoto."

"Am I?" she asked. Her eyes drifted over to focus on his face. "Am I really Sakura Kinomoto? I'm not so sure myself. I feel like her and I have her memories, but everything… all of those memories, they feel so unnatural." A slight smiled played over her face. "Those memories feel like they happened to a completely different person, as if I inherited them from her. It's like I never existed until those few weeks ago ago. I woke up in a hospital after the real Sakura Kinomoto died. She fell from the fourth story of a dilapidated building and I was born in her place." Her eyes closed and she took a deep breath. "She was so happy and carefree. I'm sullen and depressed, always looking over my shoulder because I'm so afraid someone is going to hurt me or rape me or do something to me." She turned her head away from him and hugged her arms across her stomach. "I mean, what ever happened to that Sakura that you know?"

"She's still there," he said softly, "you just need to let her out instead of shielding her so much from the outside world."

"But, the outside world is such a dangerous place," she muttered, pushing her body with her feet. "I don't want to let her back out there because she may end up getting hurt again."

"So what if it is?" he demanded. "Are you just going to continue to run away?"

"Maybe that's what I want to do!" she snapped.

"Then stop!" he cried out. "If you won't stop, then I'll run with you. We'll all support you. Why won't you get that through your thick skull?"

"Because none of you can ever understand what I've been through." She watched him closely, her eyes following every little twitch his body gave. "Every single night that I've been away from that godforsaken place is hell. I dream that I'm being raped all over again, and then wake up drenched in sweat." When he tried to speak, her gaze stopped him. "And it's not like I can talk to anyone about this. Therapists just try and tell me to put it all behind me. Touya thinks he should have protected me better. Tomoyo is still blaming herself for everything that happened to me even though none of this is her fault." She sighed. "Maybe Meilin would understand, but I severely doubt she could, no matter what had happened to her."

"So what? So what if we don't understand you. We can still help you in some way or another. If you need us, any one of us can lend you some support. At least acknowledge that we can help you."

"No."

"Sakura, you have to at least let us try before you just continue to push us away!"

She shrank away from him, scooting to the other end of her little bench. Her chin tapped her knees and she began once again to stare intently at the ground. "I'm scared," she whimpered.

"I am too." He looked at her, watching her as she continued to rock back and forth on the bench. "I'm scared for you."

She looked up for only a moment before her eyes went back to the floor. "Don't be. I don't need your pity."

"Pity?" His eyes flashed a mixture of anger and frustration. "You're not going to stop me from caring, Sakura." He walked over to the chair and placed a hand on her shoulder. Her entire body trembled under his touch. The response she gave was a strangled cry, cut off only because she had clamped her mouth shut and bit hard on her bottom lip. A trickle of blood ran down her chin only to be caught by her tongue. She rubbed at the red mark with the back of her hand. He thought he saw her flicker for just a moment then, but passed it off as part of his imagination.

"Then just stop yourself. I'm not worth it." She wrapped her arms around her knees, hugging them to her chest.

"You are worth it!" When his eyes drifted to her, they were angry and narrow. It scared her but at the same time confused her as to why he kept pursuing her in this manner.

"No!" she cried out, placing her palms on the bench. "Syaoran, please…"

His gaze softened. "You are worth everything because I love you," he said softly, as if lacking the courage to speak. "I love you," he repeated, this time his voice more firm.

She looked away from him. "Is this a joke?" Her words caught him off guard. "Do you really care about me this much to put up with this hell that I'm putting you through?"

"Yes!" he cried out, clenching his jaw and surging toward her. "Why can't you understand that?"

"Because, after going through six months of rape, torture, and trauma, do you honestly think that I'm going to just be the same girl that left you?" She stood so quickly and with so much force, he heard the bench creak as she met his advance. Now, it was her turn to glare at him. Her hands were clenched into tight fists at her sides to match the furious slits that her eyes made. "Do you really think that I'd even want to be around anyone? Most importantly, do you think that I'd want to be around you?"

Her words were like millions of needles, piercing him directly to the core. He felt as if time was slowing down, almost to the point of stopping. His chest was tightening and he wanted to just slap sense back into her. He wanted to hug her. He wanted to hold her again like the days past. Everything was so much better back then, and he wanted for it so badly to return to those days.

"Of course," he said. "I'm sorry for pressing you. I'll leave you alone now." He smiled at her and turned to walk away. She resumed her seat on the bench.

"Thank you… for understanding."

At her words, he stopped. "You know," he began, "I still love you." The words flowed like was as he turned in her direction. "No matter what you do, no matter how many times you try and convince me otherwise, I still love you. I'll wait for you, forever if I have to. Because in all of you letters and all of your phone calls, you promised that you would wait for me just as long. Now it's up to me to do the same for you."

While time had slowed for him, it ground to an abrupt halt for her. The mall… the people within it… none of them existed as everything stood still, fading into dim little figures in the background. The universe was just the two of them for these precious seconds. His soft brown eyes gazed into the depths of her soul where the chaos and shattered pieces of her own heart lay in a tiny forgotten pile. She couldn't close that door. She was unable to seal it off from the world. No matter how hard she had tried, she was still broken inside.

They had stripped her of everything human. They had tortured her until she had become survival. And her mind was still in that phase. Survival of her self… her soul… her everything. She had to break the chains binding her to that place, but she couldn't. Not without help. As much as she realized that fact, she would not, could not, seek the help she so desperately needed. This was her battle and she would fight it alone. And now he wanted to fight it with her. All of her friends wanted to fight it with her. He knew it, and she couldn't acknowledge that fact. Her own fears and the hundreds of minute security layers her heart had been wrapped in blinded her to all of this. It scared her that they would support her even after she had done everything she could to push them away. It frightened her so much that she no longer knew what she should do. The lack of any plans scared her the most.

Time was moving again. Her time was slowly clicking forward once more.

She stood abruptly, shoving him out of the way. Her feet moved of their own accord, carrying her anywhere but that bench.

In the end, she could only run. She didn't want to, but it was the last security device, her hearts last line of defense. It could not longer confront the issue, so it removed itself from it. Her own two feet were carrying her through the crowd. Her own two hands were shoving herself past people.

A crestfallen Eriol and an equally exuberant Tomoyo were emerging from the shop, Meilin only slightly behind, as Sakura dashed past. The watched as she nearly ran headlong into a throng of fellow teenagers before disappearing into the crowd. They all exchanged glances as Meilin took off after her.

Sakura could only run. She was running from him, from the feelings that his words and his face and everything about him stirred from deep within the pit of her being.

The only problem was that she no longer knew why she was running from him.

_Post-fiction…_

PHEW! Finally updated. Not as long as many of you would like and especially not as long as this wait should merit, but I feel as if this is how long it should be. I promise the next chapter will be much longer as… well, I can't tell you that… that would ruin the big surprises in store. And now this story breaks fully away from Fallen Neo as it starts becoming a nice little thrill ride now. With million foot drops and death spirals.

Expect the unexpected.

See you next update: _Ciuline Ihmenjo_


	21. Neo: Others

Fallen Neo

Written by: Ciuline Ihmenjo

Card Captor Sakura does not belong to me. The characters in Card Captor Sakura do not belong to me. CLAMP owns CCS. Besides, even if you do try and sue me, I have no money.

_Pre-fiction…_

Well, you will all be happy to know that I've risen from my grave and hired a hitman in order to take out my writer's block. Now, with that out of the way, I finally sat down and just hammered out this next chapter. Hopefully, it's to the standard of my usual writings. Although, it's short (again), but I promise longer chapters in the future!

This chapter won't have so much of Sakura and Tomoyo, but will instead focus on our two members of the Li clan. Once again, thank you all so very much for being patient with my erratic updates!

If you have any questions for me… just add them to your review and I'll try and answer them as soon as I can.

_Italicized words_ are thoughts. **Bold words** are emphasis. CAPS WORDS are shouting.

**o()o Others o()o**

Syaoran stumbled sideways, narrowly avoiding a two story fall by clutching onto the railing. For a moment, he stood there speechless, watching her fade into the distance. He wasn't sure why he could only stay rooted into place. It was like she had attached superglue to the bottom of his shoes.

"Sakura," he finally cried out, "wait!" Of course, she was far to gone for his words to reach her ears. And in this case, it was not just a physical situation. She had barreled through shoppers and even dashed past her own friends in her desperate attempt to remove herself from her situation.

O o o o o O

She had sprinted what she assumed to be a safe distance before ducking into an empty changing room. Nearly yanking the chain from around her neck, she focused her energy into the small token.

"Release…"

O o o o o O

He did the only thing he could think of: he took off after her.

"Sakura!" he shouted frantically.

Nothing would prevent him from reaching her; at least, he imagined that would be the case. He shoved past shopper after shopper, tracking her presence as she fled through the mall. Sensing her very distinct aura was nearly second nature to him. After spending so many years getting to know Sakura the person, her aura was as easy to find as his own hand. It was not very far ahead, and for some reason, was no longer moving.

But then, the unexpected happened. He felt her aura flicker, similar to when she disappeared for those long months. And then, it split. It didn't divide in half, but instead into three distinct presences. Each one was heading in a different direction. Each was moving with increasing speed away from him.

He knew it was the work of the cards, but the fact she had assigned her own aura to two of them caught him off guard. Each of these new presences felt exactly like Sakura. It was eerie and decidedly unnerving. He caught himself wondering if the same Sakura that had been coming to school was instead one of the cards. Certainly, this evidence would support that theory.

His phone chose that moment to announce its presence in his pocket. Fumbling for it, he flipped the plastic cover up, narrowing missing a cluster of females as he ran past them.

Eriol's concerned voice immediately reached his ears. "Did you sense that?"

"How could I not?" Syaoran replied.

"She knew you were coming after her, so she split her aura and distributed it amongst the cards."

"Or something similar."

"Right," Eriol responded. "I suspect Mirror and Illusion." Eriol paused and only the background buzz of evening shoppers transmitted over the receiver. "There is a possibility she's using Small or even Twin as well." He sighed. "You realize that you might not even be chasing Sakura."

"I know that, but at the moment, all I can do is run after her." He could feel her moving father and farther away with each passing moment. Even as he sped up, she seemed to move away from him that much faster. "Have you considered Dash?"

"Yes, but I found it best to not inform you about that particular card." There was another short pause. "And I suspect that the multiple auras are being controlled by Create."

Syaoran stopped, trying to catch his breath. "Eriol, this is impossible! I'm never going to be able to catch her at this rate!"

"Of course, why else would she simultaneously activate at least six different cards?" He heard a feminine sigh from the other end of the line and a decidedly unfeminine string of curses. "And Tomoyo says that Sakura isn't picking up her phone." Eriol chuckled. "And Meilin seems to agree with that sentiment."

"Thus confirming that she doesn't want to be found."

"Exactly." Eriol muttered something under his breath. "Of course, who would blame her? We did sort of force her into speaking with you."

"Sort of?" Syaoran chuckled a little. "Well, had I known that you were trying to set us up, I would have certainly voted against it."

"Right, which is why we chose not to inform you. I figured it would be a little easier on the both of you if you just confronted each other."

"Stupid idea."

"I figured that out."

"So instead of talking to me, she ran. What do you propose we do now almighty reincarnation of Clow?"

Eriol growled. "Remember that I'm just as concerned for her as you are. I'm on your side here."

"Then help me find her."

"I'm trying." Tomoyo and Meilin could be heard arguing about something n the background when Eriol began speaking again. "Perhaps she is confused or even terrified of finding out what her true feelings are. Maybe you did something that reminded her of the Houses. It could just be that she saw someone from that place and felt this was the safest option." A soft thump echoed over the phone. "Even so, I wish you Godspeed in finding her."

"I need the speed of the gods in order to even catch up with her," Syaoran muttered.

"Yes, but standing still to catch the breath you've already caught won't help you to gain on her any faster. Good luck." With those words, a soft click announced Eriol had terminated the conversation.

Syaoran smacked the palm of his hand against a nearby pillar and felt the world shake around him. A few customers shot concerned glances in his direction, hurriedly rushing off to fulfill their own personal agendas. He shook his head and took off after one of the presences, hoping that good fortune would shine upon him.

O o o o o O

Meilin leaned back against a pillar as Eriol hung up the phone. "No signs of her?"

"Three, actually," he responded, slipping the plastic device into his pocket. "Though, Syaoran seems hell bent on finding her."

"Have we tried calling the plush toy?" Meilin sighed. "Although, having to resort to calling that thing doesn't speak too much for us as her friends."

"Perhaps you should look at it more along the lines of the fact that we are bothering to consult Kero instead of blindly pursuing Sakura."

Eriol looked at Tomoyo almost as a plea for help as Meilin unleashed unbridled fury.

"Consulting? That plush toy?" she cried out. "Honestly, all that needs to be done is for someone to beat that girl upside the head with her own summoning staff!" She crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head.

"Meilin!" Tomoyo exclaimed, but the Chinese girl kept talking.

"We've practically thrown ourselves at her feet to help her get over this. Even then, she's practically ignored all of our efforts. I, for one, am getting fed up with it."

"Just because she can't shut her emotions away like you can doesn't mean she'll be over this like you are." Tomoyo glared at her. "You went through the same situation as she did. I'd expect you to understand her situation the best. She had to endure it for six whole months and with different people each day. She was helpless and alone and scared and all you can do is yell at her about it while she's not even here?"

"Because I was alone and scared and helpless, too!" Meilin set her jaw. Her expression conveyed near certainty that she was about to slug Tomoyo. Eriol took notice and accidentally shoved Tomoyo gently out of the range of Meilin's foot. "She went through it for six months with people she'll never see again. Who cares? For six years I went through the exact same torture and torment with someone I saw almost every day I did not spend barricaded in my room. And it's all because my family did not – and still doesn't – deem me important enough to pay attention to my needs." She narrowed her eyes. "Yes, I understand what she is going through, but you'd best not expect me to show sympathy for her."

Tomoyo gasped. "I'm sorry."

"You didn't know," Meilin snapped and hastily followed with a quick apology. "Not many people do, and I would appreciate it if you didn't let that fact become false."

Eriol inhaled deeply. "Okay, since you seem to know more about this situation than the rest of us, where would you go if you had magical powers and could make yourself very hard to find?"

"Well, I went to the basement and beat the bejeezus out of a punching bag." Tomoyo shot her an odd look. "My safe haven," Meilin replied in her own defense, illiciting a slight chuckle from both of the figures across from her. "For her," Meilin began, "home isn't a safe haven. She has Touya and her father, and no matter how much they care for her, she doesn't want to get involved with either of them."

"In other words, letting Syaoran take off after her probably wasn't the brightest idea on our part." Eriol said with a wince.

"Not really, but Syaoran has one thing we all lack: the ability to track Sakura." Meilin shook her head again, "But, it seems she is a few steps ahead of us all."

"Yes, but where would she go?" asked Tomoyo.

"Oh, that's easy," Meilin replied. "She's probably headed for the park right now."

O o o o o O

Syaoran placed his hand on her shoulder and the surprised girl turned around.

"Syaoran," Sakura said softly, "I'm sorry, but you have it all wrong."

"Then you're not Sakura?" He sighed. "I figured as much when I touched you."

The figure before him shook its head. "Not, not at all. She said that she was sorry to do this, but she didn't want you seeing her like this."

"She doesn't seem to want to see me at all," he muttered.

"That's not exactly true." The figure smiled. "Although, I'm sure there are a great many things you two will be discussing once you find her. As for myself, I need to get back to her and report that you've found me."

"Wait," he said, "before you go… who is it that I am talking to?"

The figure flashed for a moment, revealing a girl with long green-tinged hair adorned with a green ribbon. Syaoran didn't need to see the small circle of glass clutched in the card's hands to guess its identity. "Mirror, I should have known."

"Although it could just as easily be Twin or Create or even Illusion in my place." The spirit winked and slipped right back into her guise as Sakura.

"Yes, but you mimicked her so well, it was only an assumption." He closed his eyes. "When you do see her, can you deliver her a message… for me?"

Mirror smiled. "Of course."

"Tell her that I still remember her promise and that I'll catch up to her soon."

"I'll tell her."

"Thank you."

Mirror began to fade slightly. "Of course, the Mistress may disapprove of this, but I can tell you where she has gone."

"Now that I know she's sent cards all over the mall, she certainly is no longer here." The near-transparent figure of Sakura nodded in confirmation. "I'll be over to find her shortly."

"But you don't even know where she went."

"I would be a horrible friend if I didn't know that."

The card giggled softly before disappearing into wisps of magic.

_Post-fiction…_

Okay, so after a tremendously long wait, you should all expect more from me. I'm sorry that this is not the case with this chapter, but 22 is already mostly written, so you'll be getting it in a few weeks. Sorry, but exams and schoolwork comes before free writings. Summer's just begun, so I'll have ample time to pound out chapters now that my mind is not preoccupied.

See you next update: _Ciuline_ _Ihmenjo_


	22. Neo: Twilight

Fallen Neo

Written by: Ciuline Ihmenjo

Card Captor Sakura does not belong to me. The characters in Card Captor Sakura do not belong to me. CLAMP owns CCS. Besides, even if you do try and sue me, I have no money.

_Pre-fiction…_

Okay, making up for a lot of lost time and quite a few 'lost' readers. Hopefully this either clears things up a little or even muddles them even more. I'm rather disappointed with the last set of reviews. Only 11, not my best showing in quite a while, but at least all my regulars showed up. At least I didn't degrade into the dismal number of reviews of my first few chapters.

I do have to agree, that Fallen 21 was not my best writing. It was quite far from it, but I felt that I got everything out. I do have something that could stand as chapter 23, but it's so short right now, I'm afraid posting it will be the end of me. Please read the remarks at the end, or you'll be missing out on quite a bit. Hopefully you'll like the progression.

If you have any questions for me… just add them to your review and I'll try and answer them as soon as I can.

_Italicized words_ are thoughts. **Bold words** are emphasis. CAPS WORDS are shouting.

**o()o Twilight o()o**

"Sakura," Syaoran called softly to the dark figure on the swing. The moon in the cloud-covered sky refused to show enough for him to tell. He wasn't quite sure if it was her, but something about the way she sat, swaying gently back and forth told him that it was. The utter lack of any presence or aura also helped to allay his fears.

The figured looked up, confirming his initial impression and guess were correct. "I didn't think you'd find me," she said softly. "And even then, I didn't think you'd come."

"I didn't either," he responded, truthfully answering both questions.

"How did you find me?" she asked on a breath, the words barely reaching his ears. "Why have you come for me, even though I've made it quite clear that I'd prefer to be left alone?"

"I didn't have to look. This place, it just felt right." He walked over at took a seat on the swing beside her. She flinched, setting the chains that suspended her plastic seat rattling. "This is where you came after Tsukishiro… Yukito… after the incident with him." He began swinging back and forth, letting his legs tap him gently forward a centimeter or so before rocking his body backwards. "Besides, I would be a horrible friend if I left you alone while you're like this."

"I'm not like **anything**. Just go away." She waved a hand in his direction. Her head turned away from him, her eyes focused on a small leaf dancing in the wind. "And I'd much prefer to be alone right now."

"You don't look it." Her response was an indignant noise. He watched her curiously as her head moved in time with the leaf. And then it hit him, she wasn't watching it. Her head would move and the leaf responded, dancing off on a new pathway. "You're doing that… aren't you?" he asked hesitantly.

"So what if I am?" she retorted. Her eyes flashed anger and then frustration. The leaf fluttered to the ground. "It helps to relieve tension."

"You most likely had Mirror and Illusion as well as Twin for the bodies. Dash helped you to place distance between us and Create allowed you to make those three separate auras. I'm willing to bet that you were using Erase to remove your aura to prevent me from detecting it. So that means you just activated at least six of the cards and aren't even out of breath."

"Nine," she whispered, interrupting his train of thought. "I was using Little, Fly, Shield, and Power on myself as well. I never had to use Erase." She was intently watching the little clouds of dust he kicked up each time he swung forward.

He sighed. "What bothers me most is that I still can't detect your aura."

"I know," she said softly, "I'm suppressing it." She turned towards him. Her eyes were as distant as always and her mouth turned slightly downwards. "I've been suppressing it for a while."

"In that case, don't you think that we have cause to worry about you?" His eyes narrowed. The thought just occurred to him that if she had been suppressing her aura for a while, just how powerful was she really? "Just what exactly is it that you are hiding from us?" The awkward silence that followed seems to press him into the earth. It was so heavy and strange that it almost carried a physical weight.

"Just forget about it," she said finally. "Why does it even matter?"

"You're not even tired. You barely show any kind of strain."

"I don't think strain will be an issue in the foreseeable future." She turned to him and her presence suddenly surged into his brain, like billions of gallons of water suddenly bursting all at once through a dam. He nearly toppled from his seat. It felt like she had smashed a sledgehammer into his chest. Her power made him nauseous and he felt the air leave his lungs.

"Because, something happened to me there. I don't know what it was. It just happened. After my magic began to come back to me, suddenly, I could do so many things that I could never do before." She sighed. "I could use Time to go back those many months and then kill that man. Shot would do it… even Sword or Firey… I could even use Sand." The way she casually named the last card sent an icy chill through his spine. "And I wouldn't even blink now. I could even go so far as to erase all my memories from the Houses: my kidnapping, my enslavement, the rapes…" Her voice seemed to fail her. The final two words came out high-pitched and muffled. She sniffled, slapping his hand away when he offered her a handkerchief. Her head dove into the crook of her elbow, and she rubbed furiously at her eyes.

He could only look on in utter confusion as her tiny sobs filled his ears. After a long period of little more than the chirruping of crickets and the sounds of her crying, she began rubbing at her face with her arm. Finally looking up, her eyes darted back and forth before finally settling on his face. The apology in her eyes did not need to be conveyed with words. "I could do all of that and so much more now, but I can't bring myself to do it. I don't think I ever could bring myself to do any of those things that would save these few shreds of sanity to which I cling. It's almost as if that would be the easy way out. Who knows how many people I would be affecting if I did. But sometimes, late at night, I lie in my bed and think, 'What if I did change it all? What if I went back and made everything okay again? Would I still feel this bad?'"

He was stunned. The amount of power needed to reverse the flow of time by a single day was staggering. The amount of power that would be needed to reverse the flow of time by the many months since her kidnapping was incomprehensible. He doubted that Clow in his prime would have had been able to tap even the outer reaches of that kind of power. Even the idea of erasing nearly eight months of memories didn't seem to faze her. Judging by her tone, she knew that she could perform these actions without blinking, without concentrating, and she would do it without a moment's notice if she wasn't so distraught over the morality of the issue. The thought of all of the power she now held in her fragile body and even more fragile mind shook him to the very core of his being.

"That place perverted me. It messed up my thoughts and toyed my emotions. So many things that I was sure about as that wide-eyed child suddenly feel so alien to me." She sighed. "I mean, do you realize that I have yet to smile since I returned from that place?" He started to open his mouth to speak, but she cut him off with a simple motion of her hand. "Illusion has been doing it for me," she added as a curt afterthought. "I haven't even gotten more than a few hours of sleep at night. I've been so scared that something dark being is going to come out of the night and snatch me away or that I'll wake up and still be chained to that bed."

"You look fine to me," he managed as she took a deep breath. He knew what Illusion was doing for her, but mentioning it now would do little more than anger or annoy her. "And not a single one of us will let anything hurt you."

Her eyes squinted for a moment. He watched the strange pattern of Illusion drift away from her before he took a good look what had been hidden from his eyes. She was thinner that he remembered. Her hair was a little tangled and matted. It bore only a dull sheen that mirrored its former glory. The skin on her body was pale almost to the point of being translucent. Her cheeks sunk in a little. Large dark circles rested just beneath her eyes. Those, though, had not lost any of their shine. Her clothes even seemed depressing, even though they were bright and cheerful colors. Overall, she just looked worn and that seemed to effect the rest of her body. She gave him a slight smile, clasping her hands behind her back.

"This," she said softly," is what I'm hiding from you… from all of you." She closed her eyes. She appeared to shimmer for a moment as Illusion merged with her body once again. For a moment, she appeared almost as static, blurred as if he was viewing her through a waterfall. Then her image solidified and she looked at him. "Do you see now, why everything is so different?" Her expression seemed hurt. "Do you see now, why I cannot be close to any of you?"

He stood transfixed before shaking it off. "But we don't care about appearances!" he cried out.

"You know," she continued, ignoring his comment completely, "I've snuck in hours of sleep at school during lectures, having Create take notes while in my desk and use Illusion and Voice to make it seem like I'm still awake." A nervous laugh escaped her lips. "I mean, those two cards know me so well they can even answer questions for me. They even know how I stand up and some of my minor nuances." She looked at him suddenly, her eyes filled with the distance that suddenly had appeared between them. Suddenly the tiny, closing rift that was once barely there had become an ocean between them. He could see it moving away, inches and inches and increase feet every second that passed.

"Sakura…" he gasped, nearly falling from his seat again.

"I'm sorry," she said, looking away. "It's just there is so much wrong with me. Everything is spiraling out of control and I'm powerless to stop it. Even with all of these cards and all of my power, I can do very little to stop it."

"You don't have to do this alone," he said softly.

She looked back at him, her gaze still hard yet distant. "You know, I didn't summon all these cards and do all of this avoiding just to play hide-and-seek with you." Her gaze softened. "But I'm glad that you did decide to find me." She kicked off the ground, setting her body swinging again. "I mean, I've been so paranoid since I escaped. I'm so scared they're going to realize that I'm alive and come and destroy all of what I've pieced back together." A strange look crossed her eyes and she shut them. "Are you afraid of me?"

"Excuse me?" he asked, wondering about the sudden question.

"Are you afraid of me?" she repeated, louder this time.

"Certainly not!" He shook his head to confirm his reply. "What would any of us have to fear from you?"

"I'm unstable."

"Anyone would be after what you went through."

"Yes, but you do have to realize, I have magic." She chuckled. "I don't know how many times I've nearly roasted poor Kero after waking up from a nightmare." He shared the laughter with her, knowing this was probably a rare occurrence.

"That suits you much better than tears and hiccupping sobs do."

"I've found the same thing true, but one really doesn't smile much after being raped daily for more than six months." She turned to him. "You said you would stand by my side. All of you did. Now, I'm asking you to forget about that. Please, just let me face this alone."

"I've told you more times than I can count that you don't have to do this alone. And I wish you would come to your senses and realize that." He swung back a little and stared straight ahead. "I mean, you know we are all here rooting for you. It's not a matter of you getting better or even returning to your former self." He leaned backwards on the swing. His body gave a great heave as he let out a pent up sigh. "I mean, all we care about is that you feel better."

"Those are no longer comforting words to me," she muttered. "Do you honestly know how many times some asshole would say that before violating me?" She snorted and shook her head, uttering a shaky laugh. "I appreciate the effort, though."

The blush that overcame his face contrasted nicely with the green of his shirt. "I'm sorry," he said, turning his head to her. She appeared sideways in his vision, and he sat up to correct the problem. "It's just that you've been so secretive and quiet and such lately that we're not even sure if you're with us."

"Would it surprise you when I said that I really haven't been?"

"No," he replied truthfully. "But will you come back to us now?"

She laughed, standing from her seat, but still clinging onto on of the chains. "I'll consider it." Using the chain as a pivot, she swung around until she was facing him. "I really will… but I still have my issues to sort out." She placed a finger at her lips. "And I'm not sure how long that will…"

She trailed off suddenly. "Did you sense that?" she cried out.

"I didn't sense anything… and I still don't"

"A presence," she shouted, "someone is out there!" She turned around and around, her body a flurry of fear-driven motion. He saw her staff leap to her hands in a flash of light. A faint pop sounded as four cards materialized in her hand.

And suddenly her thoughts were pouring into his mind. He wasn't sure what was going on. It was as if he was watching six months of events pouring past in the blink of an eye. An icy chill seized his body, and he could swear that he could see his breath in the night's air. Everything became that much more muddled and confusing about her. Suddenly, he feared the depth of her power that much more. A sharp cry roused him from the maze of her mind. She was about to activate them when he stood audibly. Her head snapped towards the location of the noise.

"Sakura, we're the only ones here!" He moved to where she was standing, a shivering knot of nerves. He clapped a hand on each of her shoulders and shook her gently. She flinched, trying to bolt after the initial contact. The staff fell from her hands and the cards fluttered to the ground, disappearing even before their edges reached the sand. He made soft noises, the same noises he imagined his mother made to him when he had woken from a terrible nightmare as a child. Her frenzied expression finally began to soften and her shoulders slumped. She collapsed against him, her fingers entangling themselves in his shirt.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. She seemed to be calming down. "I just can't ever shake this feeling that someone out there is watching me. I just want to protect all of you. I don't want to lose any of you when the Houses actually come for me."

"You said 'when' like it's a certainty that those people will come for you."

"It is." Her tone turned icily serious. He felt a chill traverse his spine.

"I have dreams, every night… that one of you is dead or severely injured because of me or because of the Houses. There are men in black coats with hidden faces who attack you or Tomoyo or Eriol... even Meilin. That is what I end up having to endure in my dreams. I never want that to happen."

"Maybe those are just nightmares."

"They feel much too real to be nightmares. I barely even remembered them until Kero and I did a divination the other night. I drew Shot, Shadow, and Sword and suddenly all of these images poured into my mind. Something is coming from the darkness and I don't want it to ever reach me." She walked towards him and collapsed into his arms, burying her face in his shoulder. "I especially don't want it to ever reach any of you," she said, muffled as she was by the green cotton of his shirt.

"That doesn't necessarily mean something is going to happen." His hand was unconsciously stroking her hair, and for once, she didn't flinch away from him.

"Yes, but at the same time, I don't want to take any chances. I'm not playing a game or anything. This is no longer some sort of test by Eriol or capturing not-quite vengeful spirits. Anything can happen now and I don't want any of you to get caught up in it. If I can protect all of you, then any sacrifice I must make will be worth it in the end."

"But, Sakura!"

"Don't 'but Sakura' me, especially since I'm almost certain of the words at the end of that sentence." She pushed him away and turned on her heel. "Good night Syaoran."

He barely managed parting words himself before she seemingly vanished into the night.

He could still feel where her palm had connected with his chest. Even as gentle as it was, he still felt the rift widen that much further. Now he was looking at her from across an ocean of murky depths. She was little more than a blip on the far shore. It felt like if she moved any further away, he would never be able to reach her.

_Post-fiction…_

First, I promise that the next chapter will be a long one, an extremely long chapter. Please be patient with any delays in the release of the next chapter because it probably won't be out until the end of the summer unless I have a day where everything just comes at once. Anyhow, as the title suggests, we're at the sunset. This could mean a bunch of things (like the fact that the story is beginning to wrap up), but I'm not going to reveal anything, except a little snippet of what's to come.

The future brings a frantic chase scene and the sound of a gunshot ringing out in the night. Old menaces will reappear and even Eriol will be put to the test… all upcoming in Chapter 23 of Fallen Neo.

That should raise a nice flurry of review questions. _The author takes a quick moment to grin evilly, ducking at the flurry of rotten fruits thrown in his direction._

See you next update: _Ciuline_ _Ihmenjo_


	23. Neo, 23: Flames I: Sakura & Syaoran

Fallen Neo

Written by: Ciuline Ihmenjo

Card Captor Sakura does not belong to me. The characters in Card Captor Sakura do not belong to me. CLAMP owns CCS. Besides, even if you do try and sue me, I have no money.

_Pre-fiction…_

The only thing I'm saying is please, please, please review this part. There's been a startling drop in my review counter for previous chapters (twenty-one and twenty-two to be exactly). For that reason (and the reason that I want to get the first of these parts out now), I am withholding the "thank you for your review" section until the end of this chapter!

Further, I based much of this on actually "combat demos" I did with another person. Realistically, you would be able to perform any of these maneuvers in actual, honest-to-god life. So, I hope that my bruises are well-spent!

**Due to some odd error with the ff(dot)net server, this chapter was cut short. I was getting the full chapter in my live preview, but somehow it was incomplete. As a result, you, my readers, missed nearly a whole page of action and the like! Here's the chapter in its entirety.  
**

Other than that, there's nothing to say. Enjoy!

If you have any questions for me… just add them to your review and I'll try and answer them as soon as I can.

_Italicized words_ are thoughts. **Bold words** are emphasis. CAPS WORDS are shouting.

**o()o Flames I: Sakura x Syaoran o()o**

"Sakura," he said softly, "are you still there?"

She didn't respond, but he had yet to hear the shuffling of feet that would signal her quick departure. He had not heard the unmistakable sound of wings beating against the air as she activated Fly. The only sound he had heard was silence.

"Sakura," he called again, "please, don't do this."

The air before him shimmered and suddenly, she was standing before him again. Her back was turned to him and, for a long time, she didn't move. When she finally did, she turned slightly, sighing as she did so.

"You are supposed to leave when I do that," she said.

"Guess I'm not that well trained," he replied with a casual shrug. He took a stance against the nearest lamp post, putting some of his weight against the black-painted metal. "You, on the other hand, need to stop running away from this."

"Running away?" she snorted. "Don't give me those lines. I've heard them thousands of times before today." She began to stalk away from him, clomping her feet loudly against the pavement. "And if that is all you have to say to me, I'm leaving."

"It still doesn't change that fact that you are doing just that." he said in his own defense. "You've been running from some dark shadows since Eriol found you in that dumpster."

"Have you ever been raped?" She turned so abruptly that he never even saw her change direction. Unbridled fury showed clearly on her face as the sheer magnitude of her presence forced him backwards.

"N-no!" he stammered at her sudden question, more from surprise than anything else.

"Have you ever had some stranger force his penis into you because you are totally unable to fight him or even scream? Has someone ever beaten you because you can't earn money because you are a tied to a bed? Has someone ever held you down while they tear the clothes from your body? How about having to tie shreds of your own clothes together so you have some shred of decency?" She stormed towards him. He didn't respond, mostly because he could not find the words. She took his silence as a denial. "No? I thought so. And until any of that happens to you every day for as long as it happened to me, do not presume to tell me how I should deal with my dark shadows." She had reached him now, digging her forefinger into his chest with her last words.

"All I want is for you to be happy again." He looked down at her blazing green eyes. Her finger still pinned him to the lamp post. "At least, I want to be able to hear that you haven't woken up the entire house with screams of panic. I want to hear that you aren't tottering on the line between light and dark."

"I'm not tottering on any such line," she said with a grimace. "I'm fully certain that I've fallen long ago."

"Then come back," he said, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"It's not a matter of just saying so and then, poof, I'll magically be healthy and hale again!" She pushed against his chest. In the same motion, she threw her arms outward, breaking his loose hold on her shoulders. "I'll figure this out on my own," she spat turning away from him.

"And what cost are you willing to pay for this stupid independence of yours?" He glared. "Do you want to shove all of us away that badly?"

"Yes! But only because I don't want any of you to get hurt!" she cried out. "Why can't you understand that?"

"We are your friends, Sakura!" he shouted with just as much volume and urgency as her cry. "What would it take to make **you** understand that?"

He watched her as she stepped towards him, unsure of how he was supposed to respond to her actions. Instead, she initiated contact… forcefully. Her fist slammed into his jaw. The blow had no pretext or even a preemptive motion. It was just her fist. She punched him, sending him staggering away from the lamp post. Tiny flickers of color danced around his vision. No length of head shaking or dazed blinking could convince them to let him be.

"What the hell was that for?" Thankfully the area where her fist had plowed into him wasn't swelling. He was certain that a purple and bloated jaw would not be something to take back to the apartment he was sharing with Meilin.

"I figured hitting you might knock some sense into you," she replied, upturning her nose.

"Hitting me? You nearly unhinged my jaw!" He leaned over and gave his head a good shake, still trying to clear the spots dancing around his field of vision. "I've been trying to speak reasonably to you since you got out of the hospital and it culminates in me nursing – most likely – a bruised jaw." He spat on the ground, wincing to see a tinge of red fly from his mouth. "And I'm bleeding… perfect."

"Oh," she looked at him, but no signs of apology shone in her eyes. In all, she remained as distant as ever.

"The least you could have done was to actually listen to me." He stood, wiping his mouth with his arm. "Maybe I've just gotten so used to having the old you around that now that she isn't there, it's really impacting me. Maybe it's just impacting the others just as hard. I mean, Tomoyo's a wreck sometimes."

"Because she thinks this whole damned thing is her fault!" Sakura shouted, interrupting his train of thought. "All of this is my fault, anyhow. If I hadn't been so weak and stupid this never would have happened in the first place." She swung her arm downwards – momentarily forgetting that her hand was occupied – and buried her wand a few inches into the soft grass lining the path. "Damn it!" she muttered, turning to examine the latest malfunction in her life.

"Weak?" he said in disbelief. "Stupid?" He gave a slight shake of his head. Instantly, he regretted the action as the spots redoubled their efforts to cloud his vision. "You have never been, and never will be, either of those. You're a smart girl and amazingly strong!"

"Yet I fail math," she muttered, trying to jerk the wand out of the ground, "and still crack my skull with a cheerleading baton."

"So you have some sort of weakness? Everyone has some sort of weakness. Hell, even Clow had weaknesses."

"But their weakness doesn't effectively shatter their lives."

She growled, tugging harder at the staff. He took the opportunity approached her. He wrapped his arms around her and laid his hands on hers. "Care for some help?"

She jumped backwards. Only his quick reflexes kept her head crashing into the healthy side of his face rather than his bruised jaw. He winced at the jarring impact but was glad that his reflexes turned his head so quickly. Still, the blow knocked the stars back into orbit around his vision.

Unfortunately, natural instinct also caused him to tighten his grip. She reacted just as quickly. She panicked, crying out loudly and flailing her arms about. He hastily released his hold on her, using his arms to protect his face. Trying to back up only exacerbated the problem as she stumbled into him. Her legs became entwined with his and they toppled to the ground. He rolled their bodies to the side to avoid impaling his ribs on the end of the pink staff. His head reminded him kindly when he thumped down behind his body that rattled skulls did not appreciate hitting the ground.

"Are you okay?" he grunted. She was sprawled mostly atop of his side. All four of her limbs worked frantically to remove themselves from his body. The chaos did not affect her in the least, but he sported a whole new series of bruises and a few sharp pains as shins or feet collided with flesh.

"Let go! Let go! LET GO!" she shouted, finally pushing away from him.

She propelled herself backwards, sliding on her butt in her haste to escape his presence. They both lay still for a moment after that. The sound of labored breathing floated through the air. She watched him like a cornered rabbit even as he tried to figure out how much more of such strange abuse his body could take. He winced slightly as he rolled first onto his back and then gingerly made his way into a sitting position. She had moved, because at his last calculations, he would have been facing her. Now, he only faced the lamp post he had once used as a leaning post. He placed his forearms on his knees in an effort to keep from folding in half.

"You know, if you keep this up, you just might succeed in ridding yourself of my presence. Although, I assume at that point, it might be a bit more permanent than either of us would like." He stayed still, looking up at the starlit sky, hidden as it was by the yellow glow of the streetlamps.

She didn't respond.

"Sakura," he said when he could no longer hear her ragged breaths, "please stop this."

Again, silence was her only response for a long moment. "Why do you even bother?" she asked, finally.

"I thought you left." He chuckled, hiding the wince as a few spasms of pain traversed his ribs. "I would have, were I in your position."

"I guess you're a bit smarted than I took you for," she muttered.

He looked over at her. "Well… I guess so." He turned to face her, working his way to his feet. "If it isn't clear to you before, then it should be clear to you now. I'm not going to just leave you."

"It would be a lot less painful if you would." She gave him a crooked grin, but the look in her eyes was not at all merry.

"Quite literally," he replied. During the exchange, he could see that she was standing on her feet.

"I meant for me," she said with a snort. "Don't be so selfish."

He shook his head. "At least your sarcasm seems to be in order."

"Syaoran…"

"Yes?" He arched an eyebrow. A slight, though unintended, grin crossed his face.

"This isn't supposed to be some sort of joke!" she cried out, glaring fiercely at him.

"I'm in pain," he said with a slight chuckle, "and no thanks to you." Toeing a spot in the path, he stared at her until she looked away. "I'm beginning to think that this isn't worth it," he said softly.

"Then just give up."

"Unless you've forgotten," he said with a chuckle, "I've already told you that I refuse to do that."

"Then just go away for a while." She turned and began to walk away from him. She had only walked a few feet, beginning to summon the wand back to the form of the key about her neck when the hairs on her neck stood on end. A small yelp almost escaped her mouth. She sent her eyes flickering over her surroundings, still walking before she caught sight of the strange glint in the bushes.

Her eyes widened and she sprinted back in the other direction. He stood, transfixed on the girl running towards him with astonishing speed. She grabbed him by the shoulders. His eyes widened in confusion as she pulled him close. Of course, that confusion quickly turned to surprise.

"If you're trying to kill me…" he started before she cut him off.

"Syaoran, DOWN!" she shouted, hauling both he and herself to the pavement. He felt something whiz past his neck. The hairs on the back of his neck stood erect, and the distinct sensation of a burn radiated from that same place. He heard the sound of something burying itself with an echoing ping in the lamp post he had been starting at mere moments before. The pain of a sudden, unprepared impact jolted his body.

"What the hell was that?" he shouted over the roaring of blood in his ears.

"A bullet," she growled.

"A bullet?" he repeated, somewhat disbelieving. "Wait," he shook his head, surprised settling over his features, "did you say a bullet?"

"Damn it," Sakura muttered, "I can't believe they'd resort to shooting at me."

He looked up at her from his position on the concrete. A few cuts and scrapes were trickling blood, but he didn't have any major injuries. He wasn't surprised to see her standing, feet set wide apart and fists clutched angrily at her sides.

"Come out you coward!" she shouted. "Damn it! You coward!" He watched in stunned silence as she continued screaming at the darkness. "Come out and fight me!"

"Who's out there?" he asked, gingerly pushing his body back to a standing position. He silently withdrew the red-stringed bead from his pocket, chanting the quick mantra to summon the relic. Relief flooded his veins as the familiar grip materialized in his hand.

She didn't respond. Her wand was not close enough to be worth grabbing. Summoning it to her hands would take too much effort. It wouldn't reach her in time for her to summon a card to deal with this new threat.

"Come out!" she shouted again, starting towards the spot where a man was just emerging from the bushes. Her face drained of all color when she laid eyes on his face. "No," she mumbled, feeling her knees buckle, "Sentry…"

"Step back." Syaoran imposed himself between her and the advancing enemy. A quick glance behind him showed Sakura, pale as a ghost and barely even standing.

"I think you'd best move, boy," the man said.

"And let you take her?" Syaoran replied grimly. He curled his fist around the jian. "I don't think so."

"Do you forget that you are only armed with your bare hands," Sentry chuckled and raised the gun, staring down the barrel at the two figured before him, "and I'm standing here with a gun trained at your head?"

"That doesn't change much."

Sentry laughed, pointing the gun and drilling a shot into the pavement. "I beg to differ." Syaoran flinched but didn't move.

"And I hope you don't think that I'm scared of lead."

They confronted each other with narrowed eyes, teenaged boy clutching his sword and grown man clutching his gun.

"Syaoran," Sakura cried from behind him, "this is my fight! Don't do this!"

"It's a bit too late for that," Sentry said with a smile. "Now if you would kindly move, I'll reclaim what is mine."

"She's not some piece of merchandise!" Syaoran cried out, leveling the blade at Sentry.

"Tsk. That, my boy, is where you are truly mistaken." Sentry gave a slight smile, directing his attention to the trembling girl. "And unless you tell your little friend to move, you won't have to worry about seeing him any more." He tightened his grip on the trigger.

"She'll never return to your filthy organization," Syaoran growled. He could feel the sweat soaking into his clothes. He blinked away droplets of moisture. The arm extending his jian was trembling from the effort. And all the while, he was distinctly aware of every ache and pain in his battered body. It felt as if a truck had mauled his body and now this obvious threat was battering down the walls of his stamina.

"Then you'll just have to move." Sentry smiled and depressed the trigger to the sounds of Sakura's screams.

Syaoran dove to the forward and to the left, thankful to see Sakura mimicking the motion, but in exactly the opposite direction. He sliced hard and single handedly with the sword.

Sentry stepped backwards. "Apparently, you're a bit more stubborn that I had come to believe."

Sentry fired another two shots. The first sent Syaoran rolling to his left. Something flickered in the back of his mind and he brought the roll up short. The second burned against his shoulder. He hissed at the sting of the burn. The bullet sank into the concrete but did not draw any blood.

Syaoran pushed himself up again, only to stare into the muzzle of Sentry's gun. He swung the sword up and around in a small circle, nearly dividing the gun into two parts. Unfortunately Sentry had better reflexes. The man swung the gun down and away from Syaoran's body.

This action left a clear opening. Using the momentum from the arc of his swing, Syaoran lashed out in a roundhouse kick. His foot caught the man directly in the side.

Sentry staggered, nearly dropping the gun. He fell sideways but jerked his gun-hand around. Something in his brain jerked his fist closed, the motion yanking the trigger backwards. He nearly drove a bullet between eyes of the startled teen. Syaoran jerked his sword upwards and in front of his face. He put the remainder of his effort into stopping his forward dash, skidding to a halt – and almost landing sprawled on his rear –in time to see the bullet whiz into the night.

Sentry looked past him, to see Sakura just making her way to her feet. He rolled over and brought the gun in line with her.

"Don't move," he said to Syaoran. "Or I shoot her." Keeping the gun trained on Sakura, Sentry took deep breaths, trying to regain control of his breathing.

"You need her."

"Yes, but not so much that I'm not against killing her."

The two sides reached a momentary stalemate. All involved took the moment to reassess the situation with any changes. Sentry took the chance to steady his breathing rate. Syaoran only glowered at the fallen man.

"This has been bugging me," he said finally. "What exactly do you want with her?"

"To end something that she inadvertently began," Sentry wheezed. "And she was my best money maker in quite a while. I can't just let that get away when I find out that she was actually alive."

"Understood," Syaoran said, "and now I'm more convinced than ever that she will not return to the godforsaken place."

"Oh," Sentry said, "thank you for letting me catch my breath."

"Huh?"

Sentry swung the gun around, catching Syaoran's ankle. Upon impact the trigger slammed backwards and launched a bullet into the woods. The teen let out a yelp and toppled over sideways. Syaoran somehow managed kept the sword clutched in his hand, rolling to avoid unwanted impact with the blade. He could feel his ankle swelling, but nothing appeared to be broken. Any attempt to actually place weight on his foot resulted in spasms of pain. He could only sit there and watch in mixing terror and anguish as events unfolded.

Sentry in the meantime, had worked his way to his feet and was approaching Sakura, gun trained on her head. "Looks like you will be coming with me, after all," he said with a chuckle.

She shook her head, eyes wide with fear. "No! I don't want to go back! Please don't take me back!" she cried out, her voice quivering with every word.

"You either come with me or I might just do something you don't want." He pointed the gun backwards and fired into the grass. Syaoran flinched. Sakura screamed.

"NO!" she shouted. "Leave him out of it!" She stared at Syaoran and then back at the man before her. Her brain nearly laughed at the irony that this event paralleled another event startling similar to one almost a year in the past. A nervous chuckle escaped her lips. A shuddered traveled up her spine.

"So, what will it be?"

"And if I promise to cooperate and go along willing with you," she swallowed, choking back tears and a sob at the very familiar words, "will you promise not to harm him?"

"Sakura, don't!" Syaoran cried out.

Sentry jerked the gun around behind him and drilled another shot into the grass. "If you don't be quiet, I'll make sure you get the next one in your leg," he called over his shoulder. "I suggest you let us grownups complete this deal in peace."

"Will you promise?" Sakura repeated firmly.

"Of course," Sentry said with a smile, "now come along and let us go back to your home."

"SAKURA!" Syaoran shouted. "Listen to me! There has to be some other way!"

"What did I tell you?" Sentry said with a glower. He whirled around, pointing the gun directly at Syaoran. "You should listen to your elders; you tend to come out whole when you do so."

Sakura was torn. Half of her brain was screaming at her, the other half whimpering in panic. That second half wanted to run. The screams won out. She lunged forward just as he squeezed the trigger.

Plowing into his back, she heard the gun report. No grunt to hide pain or the keening wail of the victim of a bullet echoed into the night. All she could hear was intense breathing – whether from Sentry or her own nostrils, she could not tell. She ricocheted off his body and rolled to a stop just behind his prone form.

"You," Sentry said softly, "will come to regret that." He rolled over, the gun still clutched in his hand. He leveled the object at her head.

"You promised you wouldn't harm him," Sakura cried out. She had rolled over as well and stared down the barrel. "If you want me to go with you, then leave him out of it."

"You don't order me around," Sentry growled. "You should know that very well by now."

"And if I don't?"

"The deal," he said softly, "is off."

She continued to stare at him. "Then I refuse to go with you. I refuse to go back to that hellhole. I refuse to let strangers continue to use me like some object. I refuse to be a puppet, controlled by someone only interested in my ability to generate cash by means of perversity."

"Sadly," Sentry said, "I was afraid you wouldn't see things our way." He walked around her, holding the gun level the entire time, until he face both teens. "It's a pity, really. I'll miss the amounts of money you made the organization."

Syaoran looked up, past Sakura and at this menace. He traced the path that Sentry took around Sakura with his eyes, grimacing at the fact that he couldn't lash out with his sword for fear of lopping off Sakura's legs. He growled to himself, trying to figure out a way to make this man disappear. Scrolls might work, but only as a last ditch effort. There was only so much magical flames could do before the man pulled the trigger anyway.

"And Since you won't be returning with us, it seems other measures will have to be taken." Sentry shook his head. "That's too bad, but since you know so much sensitive information in regards to our organization, I'm afraid that you will have to be eliminated." He dug into his pocket, pulling out a new clip and quickly reloaded the gun. The discared case clattered to the ground. With a flick of his wrist, he brought the gun in line with the middle of Sakura's forehead. She could only stand, transfixed at the sight of death staring her in the face. She felt naked and more alone than she had ever felt before.

For Syaoran, there was no time to think. His arms were moving on their own, withdrawing the two slips of parchment by instinct at the sound of the clip hitting the ground.

Sakura never even heard the shouted mantra. The gust of air barreled into her, sending her sprawling into the grass that lined the side of the paved road. It knocked the wind from her lungs and somehow carried her within inches of her wand. She stared blankly as the gun followed the arch of her body.

It was then that she heard the echoes of the gunshot. The boom surged through the air, loud and clear over the dull buzzing of a sleepy city and the faint chirping of the crickets.

Everything went silent. The crickets ceased all noise at the boom of the bullet exiting the metal cylinder. Her heartbeat, once roaring in her ears, skipped countless beats.

Red droplets flew into the field of her vision, but not before a second cry rang out in the night. A blur of green darted across her vision.

Blinking slowly, as the situation suddenly became startlingly clear, Sakura threw her head back and screamed.

_Post-fiction…_

As readers, you are probably looking at the chapter titles and wondering what that strange "Flames I: Sakura and Syaoran" notation is. For those of you who haven't realized after reading the chapter, it means, I decided to split the chapter into three parts. Originally, I had the idea to chaotically arrange the entire chapter so the viewpoints are shifting between Sakura, Syaoran, Eriol, Tomoyo, and Meilin (poor thing, she gets her own chapter). As I continued to outline and plan chapter 23, I realized that would not only be a disappointment to you, as my readers, but also a breech of style on my part. Instead, I separated the chapter into these three parts, with plans to elaborate further on the other going-ons at the time that Sentry is confronting Syaoran and Sakura. I hope that my original, chaotic intentions are still there, but at the same time, this version flows that much better.

As for the answer to the single question almost everyone has on their mind at the moment: I'm not telling you the results of the gunshot until chapter 24. That means, you have to suffer through the next two 'chapters' to discover the fates of Sakura and Syaoran.

See you next update: _Ciuline_ _Ihmenjo_


	24. Neo, 23: Flames II: Meilin

Fallen Neo

Written by: Ciuline Ihmenjo

Card Captor Sakura does not belong to me. The characters in Card Captor Sakura do not belong to me. CLAMP owns CCS. Besides, even if you do try and sue me, I have no money.

_Pre-fiction…_

The only thing I'm saying is please, please, please review this part. There's been a startling drop in my review counter for previous chapters (twenty-one and twenty-two to be exactly). Other than that, there's nothing to say. Enjoy!

If you have any questions for me… just add them to your review and I'll try and answer them as soon as I can.

_Italicized words_ are thoughts. **Bold words** are emphasis. CAPS WORDS are shouting.

**o()o Flames III: Meilin o()o**

"Something's wrong," Meilin said softly. She came to a sudden halt and made a show of checking her bags. Tomoyo and Eriol stopped as well.

"What is it?" Eriol asked, "did you forget something at the mall?"

Meilin glanced around, not moving her head and still digging in her bags. Nothing seemed to be amiss, yet she could not shake this feeling of dread that rattled her to the core of her being. She had just continued forward when she heard it, the unmistakable sound of shoes scraping on the pavement.

"Don't look at me, don't act like anything at all is amiss," she said under her breath. "Tomoyo," she continued as they rounded yet another nondescript corner, "Eriol, listen to me. We're being followed."

"You noticed it as well," he stated. Meilin nodded slowly.

Tomoyo gasped suddenly and gravitated towards Eriol. "Sakura!" she whispered harshly.

"We need to split up," Meilin continued softly. "It might just throw them off a little. In the least, it'll help to even the odds."

"There's only three of us," Eriol pointed out, "how many of them are there?"

"I didn't get a good count, but there are at least seven of them." Tomoyo blanched as Meilin continued. "I really don't think they're after me, but if they are from this Houses place, then they might go after me as well."

"What do you plan to do?" Tomoyo whispered harshly. "Where's Sakura?"

"I've been detecting some faint stirrings of magic," Eriol replied, "but as of yet, nothing definite."

"Then she's okay?" Tomoyo asked, her voice sounding with increasing urgency.

"As far as I can tell, she's okay, but she seemed perfectly fine when she took off from the mall." He slowed his pace. "Meilin, can you get a better count? I'd prefer to know the odds rather than rushing blindly into this situation."

"I don't think they're anything more than goons," Meilin hissed, "and I'm pretty sure there are more than seven. Seeing as they don't really go to any great lengths to cover their noises, I'd say they also aren't really high on the intelligence charts. I would say, thought, that there aren't any more than fifteen of them."

"Great," Eriol muttered. He appeared to be doing some mental calculations. "So, we can assume that Tomoyo's the target?"

Meilin pursed her lips together and nodded. "That might not be the case. This Houses place you told me about could just be trying to get back at Sakura."

"Then, as you suggested, we'll have to split up," he said. Meilin nodded again. "It's our best option. At least that way, someone might be able to slip away."

"Wait a minute," Tomoyo hissed. "Wouldn't it be smarter to stick together?"

"No," Eriol said softly. "We'd be too concerned about you that neither of us would be able to fight properly."

"I'd be in the way?" Tomoyo growled. "Thank you, but I do have some ability to care for my own self."

"Plus, I think it'll be much harder for the three of us to fight a large group of people rather than perhaps one or two of us facing fraction of that number." Meilin scanned ahead on the sidewalk. "There looks to be a Y-intersection up ahead. I think that will be the best chance we have to get away."

"We'll try to call the police on her cell phone, but I can't guarantee anything with the reception we've been getting." Eriol nodded slowly, turning his head slightly to place his mouth near Tomoyo's ear. "Tomoyo, can you run?" he whispered.

"I'll have to lose some things, and I'll really hate giving up a camera. Either way, I've gotten better at having to keep up with Sakura, so I should be able to manage," she murmured, just loud enough for her companions to hear. She managed a small chuckle. "At least I'm not wearing heels." Swallowing audibly, she patted her pockets, giving a relieved sigh. She began loosening her grip on the shopping bags tapping against her side. Eriol and Meilin followed suit.

"We'll leave once we get to the split there," Meilin whispered. "You two stick together. If Tomoyo really is the target here, the two of you will do much better together than splitting up."

Meilin cocked her head to her right, pointing a thumb towards her chest. Eriol nodded and dug a sun-shaped keychain from the pocket of his pants. He grasped Tomoyo by the hand as they came to the point in the intersection and dashed down the left road. Each person dropped anything they carried as they fled in false terror. Their shopping bags lay forgotten on the ground, tossed away in an effort to decrease the weight carried by panicked feet. Dozens of feet trampled the objects as the suits pursued their quarry.

O o o o o O

Meilin chanced a glance behind her to see how many she had drawn away. Only a scant five people were following her. She knew now that Tomoyo was the target. She doubted that as the forgotten member of her family, these men would know her connections with one of the most prestigious clans in China. Gritting her teeth, she pushed forward, listening to the mild curses streaming from behind her.

A long fight was coming, that much she could tell easily. Years of instinct lead her flight towards any favorable position. Any small factor in her favor for this fight would be in her best interest. She glanced down every alley she passed, waiting to find out that did not open out to another street. If these thugs managed to attack her from multiple sides, fighting would become that much more difficult. She swore under her breath and slowed her pace a little to conserve both energy and breath. Her pursuers started to gain on her a little, but she had managed to place enough distance between herself and them to provide a little leeway.

She skidded slightly as she finally found an alleyway split by a chain-link fence. She ducked into the dark alley, thankful for the light of a nearly-full moon.

Stopping at the halfway point between the entrance and the fence, she squared off in a fighting stance. She raised her body onto the balls of her feet, keeping her hands before her. Perhaps these goons would view her resistance as a futile attempt. Their surprise or even amusement would give her that much more of an advantage over them.

She had confidence in her abilities as a martial artist, but never had she really fought more than two people at a time. Certainly, sparring with Syaoran was like fighting more than one person, but at the same time, she only had to worry about Syaoran and his fatigue rather than comparing her own exhaustion to that of five other people.

With a shake of her head, she mentally kicked herself. Confidence that she certainly did not feel at the moment surged through her body. She would need it throughout the fight. Certainly, it would not be a time to doubt her abilities.

"This is simple," she grinned, "only five guys to worry about and two dear friends to protect." A quick glance at her surroundings showed her that there was very little to stumble over, save for a few pieces of trash danced in the air, whipped up by minute air currents.

The sounds of stomping feet approached quickly. She readied herself just in time to see all five of her pursuers coming to a sudden halt near the head of the alley. One snorted at the image of this young girl actually thinking to stand up to them. Another muttered something to one of his pals. Their chuckles echoed off the wall as they stalked towards her. She would make them regret their laughter.

"So, how many people does it take to kidnap one little girl?" she called out.

"Our orders are to kill everyone but that other girl and not to let any of the others escape," the man she assumed was the de-facto leader of this group of thugs announced as he stepped forward. "Kidnapping **you** was never part of the plan."

Meilin winced at the lack of sound tactics. Before, they could have at least attempted to trick her with the promise that she would not be harmed, but of course, she would not have believed that lie at all. At least now, the sharp realization settled in her brain that she would also be fighting for her life.

"Are you just going to stand there and compare the size of each other's penis, or are you morons going to come and get me?" she shouted, cupping her hands over her mouth. She settled back onto her heels before raising her body onto the soles of her feet. A grin crossed her face as her comment seemed to be taking effect. Three of the men stepped forward only to realize the alleyway was too narrow to admit them. One stepped back and still, the alley resisted, proving for her self enough maneuvering room to be comfortable, but comparatively less room for two grown men to simultaneously attack her.

A grimace adorned the face of each man. She was wondering what nerve she had hit when a snap-click echoed through the alley. The first man to step forward drew a wicked-looking knife from his pocket. The one behind him made no move to do so. She heaved a sigh of relief. The blade flicked out to a good four inches in length and he slashed experimentally a few times with it as he approached her. Another two clicks announced the presence of a minimum of two more of the blades, but she could not see to whom these knives belonged. Meilin grimaced and continued her waiting game, briefly analyzing weight and height of her first two opponents.

She barely had time to think before the first man charged her.

She stepped to the side, quickly flattening herself against the wall as he dashed past her. The blade swung around; its wielder hoping to catch her in the gut, but she had already dropped down, swinging her leg out to catch him in the kneecap. She felt the impact and heard the sickening crunch that followed. He gave a loud grunt and collapsed to the pavement, his knife forgotten as he clutched at his shattered knee.

Continuing the sweep of her leg, she kicked the knife away. It clattered down the alley and pinged against the chain link fence.

He screeched again in pain as she brought her foot into his rib cage. A loud series of cracked echoed in the alley and his cries fell silent.

If her attackers were not playing around, she would not either. They did not care for her life, but she would not stoop to their level. At least this would put him out of the fight, for now, and into a hospital for a few weeks.

She flicked her gaze out as the sound second attacker rushing in reached her ears. He clomped down the alley, sounding more like a wild freight train rather than a human being. She put her hands into a defensive position, searching for a glint of steel in his hands. Though he kept his hands at his sides, she could not see any traces of a knife.

Of course, that did not mean that his pals were still armed. She heard, rather than saw the blade coming. It whizzed through the air, clanging off the wall and narrowly missing her face as it bounced towards her. Her attention snapped towards the noise first and the blade second. She dodged it easily before remembering the opponent barreling towards her.

It was too late. The freight train plowed headfirst into her gut, diving over his fallen comrade to do so. She grunted, surprised by the sudden streak of intelligence this solitary thug had just displayed. Clutching her hands together, she reached high over her head and slammed downward with all her strength. A neat popping noise and a muffled grunt greeted her actions and she felt the man go limp.

It was then that she regretted her actions. His dead weight plowed her into the concrete below her, driving the wind from her lungs. He proved to be difficult to move.

She could hear the low cackle as the next goon approached her. The man following mere steps behind him was dressed in the nearly identical blue-jeans and torn-shirt as every other thug in the alley.

She squirmed backwards, freeing herself just as the pair cleared the latter of her previous victims. The leading man stalked towards her as she felt her feet slide from beneath the limp body. His heavily-booted foot slammed down in the space her head had occupied moments before.

"She won't stay still," the second muttered.

"Pity he didn't give us that pistol of his," the first said, turning his head over his shoulder to address his comrade. "We could use it right about now."

She lunged forward, driving the top of her foot up into his groin. She felt something give. The thug's body leapt a good few inches off the ground before he finally found his voice. He howled in pain, dropping his knife in favor of clutching his groin. The man clattered against the concrete. She saw him land and thrust her foot against his head for good measure.

The second man lunged in. She drew back reflexively and watched him do the same. She winced, wondering how superior these two remaining men were to their fallen comrades. He feinted, lifting his leg and lashing out with a roundhouse that would have doubled her over.

She had already stepped back, recognizing the blow was coming from the minute his hips had twisted. He grimaced.

"You aren't just some ordinary street punk," she said.

"Touché," he said with a smile, "you aren't just some ordinary girl,"

"What do you want from Sakura?"

"Sakura? That's the dark-haired one's name?" He shrugged. "They want revenge. They want her to feel exactly what her friend went through before she escaped."

He leaned in, throwing a jab with his leading arm. His other arm protected his face. It was simple to bat away with probe and she responded by throwing her weight into a vicious kick. He danced away.

"This battle is all in the name of revenge?" she shouted. "Why can't these Houses fight their own battles?" She grunted as he launched a flurry of attacks. "Are they that weak?"

"No," he said calmly deflecting her counter. "The Houses are quite strong. And that reason is exactly why this revenge is so important here. It will show the world what happens when you escape your cruel fate."

"Fate?" she growled. "Let me show you something about fate and running into battles you can't win."

She lurched forward, causing him to draw back in surprise. Her first kick was a feint, drawing his arm down. She deftly brought her leg up and hooked it around, her heel slamming into his back just below the neck. They both swore, he from the sudden pain, she for her misjudgment of how high she would be able to throw her leg.

His counter was swift and almost caught her off-guard. She stepped quickly to the side, brushing his blow away with her arms. Because most of her attention had been focused on driving back this skilled attacker, she had forgotten exactly how much space she had to maneuver in the cramped confines of the alley. Her back smacked off the wall and she grunted.

He noticed the opportunity and lashed out with a quick series of kicks. She reached back with both hands and shoved away from the wall, using the force of the action to twirl out of the way of his kick. She brought her fist around as she did so, closing the gap between him.

No good. Her arm slapped against his forearm. A sadistic grin flashed over his face as he reached out with his other hand to grab her arm. He jerked her forwards and she felt herself stumbling off balance. Her feet could not keep up with her body and she scrambled to regain her footing. She had almost forgotten about the wall. Her arm shot out, shoving again off the bricks to propel her head towards him. She felt the resounding crack as the top of her skull collided with his chin. His eyes widened in surprise. With a grunt, the man stumbled backwards and smashed his head against the bricks. A moan escaped his lips and he slid to the ground.

It was a lucky break, but in this sort of fight, she would take all the luck she could take.

Unfortunately, she was still off balance. To add insult to injury, black spots danced before her vision from the exact magnitude of the impact. She found herself tangled in his falling body and she cursed her sudden change in fortune. His head crashed against the boundaries of the narrow alley. His body fell away from her. She stumbled forward, nearly running into the wall before she caught herself on it.

The rasp of metal on leather behind her did not escape her ears.

_Shit, I'd forgotten about his friend…_

She twisted her body, knowing the unseen strike was coming. The knife flashed out, ripping a good section of cloth out of the trailing abdomen of her shirt. A growl rose in her throat while relief flooded through her body.

"You can't expect to kill me with some cheap shot, do you?" She fingered the tear in her shirt and felt the thin wet line where the knife had almost ended her life.

"No, but I do suspect a knife will do much more than your hands." He smiled, switching the blade to his other hand.

He stabbed at her this time. She shifted to the side only to find the knife following her path. She kicked out one leg and shoved backwards. He slashed downwards, opening a slight cut on her calf. The flash of pain generated a wince from her, but little more. A quick check with her hand showed that it had not done significant damage. Yes, it was bleeding, but it wouldn't impair her.

"You'd be surprised at the things that hand-to-hand combat can do against a bladed weapon." She feinted in, trying to draw his attention, but failed. He slashed out at her again as a counter. She danced backwards and took a moment to analyze this new threat. Certainly, she would have been able to avoid his arms or at least block them, but a knife threw a mess of new variables into the equation.

Fleshy surfaces did not mix well with sharpened steel. Gritting her teeth, she faced her opponent and motioned him forward. He waded in, knife slashing out at her chest.

She leaned a little to the side, skipping out of the range of his slash. He closed rapidly, swinging his arm upwards and nearly slicing her from groin to throat. She jerked and bent backwards. At the apex of his slash, her opponent twirled the knife expertly downwards and stabbed. She dropped to her back, ignoring the impact with the ground, and brought leg upwards. He dance away from her strike, cancelling his own blow.

"You're not bad," he said with a smirk. "But you've been fighting for at least fifteen minutes. Fatigue might do you in."

"You could only hope," she replied with her own smirk. She had little time to compose herself though, as he came rushing towards her. She neatly sidestepped his onrush and turned into a back kick.

"**_HELP!"_**

And then, she faltered. The sudden shout was definitely Eriol. She could hear his voice, even as the cry was fading from her mind. Her foot dropped to the ground as she tried to catch her balance.

Pure agony exploded into her brain seconds later. She screamed, more out of frustration than pain. She could feel the foreign metal protruding from her shoulder. It hadn't managed to hit bone, but it had pierced several layers of tissue and muscle. The pain shooting through her body burned hotter than fire. Her entire arm was numb and any attempt to move it was not met with successful results. At least the blade was preventing rapid blood loss.

She twisted her body instinctively with the blow, bringing her uninjured arm around with a clenched fist. Her fist crashed into the man's wrist. He released his grip on the knife with a yelp and she lurched forwards. Pain was clouding her judgment. Palm pressing into the bricks, she tried to concentrate on shutting the pain away. She turned her head to watch him. Hunched over and gasping for breath, she saw him move towards her.

"This won't stop me," she growled. Sweat was beginning to break out over her entire face.

"Of course," the man replied, a grin appearing on his face, "but it will slow you down."

She could hear each breath, ragged and gasping as he drove a kick towards her body. Using her arm, she shoved away from the wall. She twisted to avoid slamming the knife further into her shoulder and skidded down the alley. The mouth of the alley was so close, but she doubted that running with a pain-clouded mind would do much. Even then, the severe loss of blood would probably take her down even if her last opponent did not.

"Not so much spunk in you now, huh?" he taunted from above her.

She spat. Glaring up at the man, she rose to her knees. Her injured arm hung limply by her side. Making her way to her feet on quivering legs, she stared at the ground. Trying to find energy was like searching for the proverbial needle in a haystack. Each breath was lava flooding her lungs. Every little shudder of her body sent jolts up her spine.

His heavy footsteps pounded towards her. Jerking her head up, she somehow managed to move her body out of the way. He slammed his elbow in her direction as he passed. The blow collided solidly, lifting her off her feet and nearly sending her sprawling on the ground. She fumbled behind her and managed to right her trajectory on the alley wall. Her other arm flopped limply into the wall and she screamed at the impact.

"You won't kill me!" she shouted in defiance. Her voice carried far more confidence than she actually felt at the moment. Adrenaline surged through her veins. She ignored the jolts of pain in her back. She ignored the sticky dampness spreading through her shirt. She ignored everything but the man before her.

"Big words from such a little girl," he said with a grin. "You should be worrying now. You'll bleed to death from that wound.' He cracked his knuckles. "Of course, I can help to make your death this much quicker."

"Shut up," she growled. He was moving towards her in pairs. Her vision swam in and out of focus.

"Certainly," he said, matching action to words. She never saw the blow, only felt the mass of his arm connect with her stomach. She felt something crack and cried out. Her vision began to dance. Her knees shook, nearly sending her to the ground. She could not let her body fall. If that happened, any hopes she had of living would be gone. She wiped the blood from her mouth with her sleeve, watching him as he plodded towards her again.

Shifting into a fighting position, she kept her injured arm behind her and squared off against him. He lashed out, two quick blows. The first caught her in the midsection, driving a good deal of the volume of air out of her lungs. She sucked air through her mouth. Ducking down, she managed to avoid the blow surging towards her head.

He curled his fist neatly and brought it down, aiming for the knife protruding from her back. She rolled sideways and swept out with her legs. Her hit scored gold as she heard his knees clack together. He stumbled, ending up behind her on his hands and knees. She took the moment to compose herself. The cobwebs wouldn't clear from her mind, but she managed to at least rise back to her fighting position. Focusing blearily on him as he assumed his stance, she took a few deep breaths as air finally rushed back into her lungs.

He wadded in, both legs lashing out in a one-two kick combination. She skipped out of the way and nearly flattened herself against the wall to avoid his punch. He swung the blow towards her face and she easily twisted out of the way. The blow echoed off the brick with a crack and a cloud of dust. He howled in pain and clutched at his fist. The look his shot her was one of pure contempt. Not even taking a moment to rest, he dashed forward throwing a flurry of kicks and punches. His motions barely showed any signs of control, and she found them easy to just dance out of his reach.

She continued her dance, oblivious to her shirt sticking to her back. She blocked his next attack easily, wondering why all his movement were beginning to seem so slow to her. She feigned a roundhouse, grinning as he took the bait and slowed a little in his attack. She quickly dropped that leg, using it as a pivot to bring her other leg high above her head. Dropping the leg like a hammer to an anvil, her heel slammed down on his collarbone and she felt it give.

"That was supposed to break your nose," she grimaced. "I guess you take what you can." She pressed off his body, heard his howl of pain, and planted her foot on the ground again. Bringing her uninjured arm up, she felt her knuckles crack off his jaw. Her fist screamed in pain, but she ignored it just as she ignored the fire that blazed across her back from the jarring impact. She twisted her arm around and closed her fist on his shirt. Using the torn material, she pulled him quickly towards her body and slammed her forehead into his nose. It broke with a meaty squish and she released her grip on the bloodied fabric in her grip.

He collapsed to his knees, blood streaming down his face. She drew her foot back as far as it would go and let loose with a punt that football kickers would envy. Curling back her toes, she let the ball of her foot collide with his face, not caring where she hit him. He released a strangled cry and fell to the ground before her. The meaty thump of man meeting concrete in a decidedly unpleasant manner echoed through the alley.

The adrenaline rush that had powered her body through the fight was flickering like a dying flame. Suddenly, she was aware of many things that her brain had blocked in its instinct to defend her. Her knees were clattering together and her entire body echoed those trembles. Her teeth were chattering together. No matter how much she willed it, her body would not move.

Her left arm hung limply at her side and she was dimly aware that her uninjured right was clutching its injured partner to her side. Then her legs gave. Her knees slammed into the concrete, narrowly missing the downed man before her. She wondered if this was a blessing or some sort of sign. Her vision was beginning to swim and her body was urging her to rest. Sleep would feel so good…

She shook her head, trying to clear it of the haze settling over her. Turning to the still form before her, she tilted her head to get a good look at him.

"I had little left to lose," she panted, "I told you, you wouldn't kill me."

She looked at the body before her as it dissolved into a black-edged blur. Her legs were moving now, but she had never given them any sort of command to do so.

The ground was rushing towards her. Her gaze turned skyward. "I hope everyone's okay…"

It was her last conscious thought before blood loss finally overcame her.

_Post-fiction…_

This is the second installment in the three sections of chapter twenty-three. Thank you for putting up with my long delays and I ensure you that your patience will be well rewarded.

See you next update: _Ciuline_ _Ihmenjo_


	25. Neo, 23: Flames III: Eriol & Tomoyo

Fallen Neo

Written by: Ciuline Ihmenjo

Card Captor Sakura does not belong to me. The characters in Card Captor Sakura do not belong to me. CLAMP owns CCS. Besides, even if you do try and sue me, I have no money.

_Pre-fiction…_

I actually went over Meilin picking up a knife, but decided that, since she was confronted back-to-back-to-back without really much of a breather, she wouldn't have had enough time to really get it. I've been in sparring matches where you're confronted with multiple opponents and you really are concentrating too much on them to actually think of anything else.

Posting Chapter 24 (part 2 of chapter 23) was very odd indeed. For the first time, I found myself posting before coca24cola reviewed my story. But, I had decided to post another chapter once every month, my deadline was about up.

Without further ado, here's the final part of chapter 23. Sorry that it's taken so long. And don't worry, **there is light up ahead!**

If you have any questions for me… just add them to your review and I'll try and answer them as soon as I can.

_Italicized words_ are thoughts. **Bold words** are emphasis. CAPS WORDS are shouting.

**o()o Flames II: Tomoyo x Eriol o()o**

Neither Tomoyo nor Eriol ever looked back. The just continued to run farther and farther away from the intersection. Footsteps pounded after them in pursuit.

"I've been calling for Spinel and Ruby since Meilin told us to split up," Eriol said as they continued their flight, "but so far, I'm coming up with nothing."

"They aren't responding?" Tomoyo asked.

"No, I can't seem to get through to them." He gritted his teeth. "Sakura's presence has almost multiplied in the last few minutes. She's in trouble."

"Trouble?" Tomoyo exclaimed.

"Something is distressing her and her magic is soaring because of it."

Tomoyo nodded and slowed her pace a little. She was already breathing quite heavily and perspiration dotted her brow. "Something like what's distressing us, correct?"

"I dare not say that you are wrong in this aspect." Eriol, despite his magical prowess was beginning to fatigue as well. He took his phone from his pocket and flipped open the top. It still showed a large red X over the signal bars. "And Sakura's presence seems to be interfering with my phone as well, so we are rather hosed."

Tomoyo sighed. "Is there anything we can do?"

"Stand and fight," Eriol said through gritted teeth. "It's about all we can do. At least our opponents won't be able to call in reinforcements if my cell phone theory is correct."

Tomoyo nodded. She reached into a pocket in her jacket before shedding the garment midstride. "It's not like it's doing me any good while I'm running," she muttered. When he finally got a glimpse at the object in her hand, he nearly tripped over his own feet. It was small and black with two prongs at the front. Where her thumb was not covering up the tinny white writing, he could see a line of at least four zeroes. The first number, and for that matter, any of the numbers before those zeroes, was covered. He was almost scared to ask her exactly how much voltage she was packing. Even more disturbing was the Daidouji corp. logo peeking around her hand.

"Please," he said softly, "don't tell me that your mother's company now manufactures military grade tasers for child use."

"No, but they did manufacture this for my use. I think she has some lucrative deal with the military or something." She flicked a switch on the little object to the on position and an arc of electricity crackled between the two prongs. "She's been concerned ever since Sakura disappeared, and you know how my mother is when she worries."

"So she had her company produce stun guns?" he asked incredulously with a cocked eyebrow. Something in his mind told him angering Sonomi Daidouji in the slightest for any reason involving her daughter would be the last thing he ever did.

"Among other things, yes," she replied in all seriousness. Eriol sighed and she responded with giggles. "Come on," she said, looking briefly in his direction, "it's not like she's putting them on the open market."

"That doesn't help any to soothe my thoughts."

"At least we have something other than your staff to defend ourselves against those guys," Tomoyo added with mock cheerfulness. She slowed, finally slumping against the wall lining the street path. Panting heavily, she waited, with her hands on her knees. She sucked in each breath, trying to gain her second wind. Eriol stopped short and stood nearby, summoning his wand to his hand.

"Do you know how long these guys plan on following us?" she asked.

"No," Eriol panted, equally out of breath, "but I don't plan on letting them catch you."

"That **is** reassuring," she replied with a slight smile. The footsteps were starting to come startlingly close. "Do you think Meilin is faring any better?" she asked him after a moment.

"I hope so."

Eriol stooped down, picking up a stone from the ground. The first of the men turned the corner and he let fly. The rock in his hand ricocheted off the forehead of the first thug to round the corner. He stopped short, angrily clutching the side of his face. His comrades skidded to a halt behind him.

Stepping before Tomoyo, he gripped the sun-tipped staff in one hand.

In mimicry of a certain grey wizard, Eriol grinned widely. "You shall not pass," he said in all seriousness. He settled back into a fighter's stance. "I won't let you lay a finger on her."

The men seemed to charge in a group. The few in the front seemed to scuttle forwards, but all of them had a deathly serious look in their eyes.

"Tomoyo, stand far back," he said calmly, his voice no longer carried its usual cheerful tone. "Things are about to get very… bad. If any of them pass me, get them quickly with that taser of yours."

Eriol swung his staff out wide, arching it around his body. He stepped forwards with the arc, swinging the heavy moon-crested tip towards the first of the men. The man slid right into the spines protruding from the staff. A nasty gash opened across his chest, and he doubled over in pain. The crowd of followers nearly tripped over themselves attempting to come to a sudden halt.

Checking the motion, he swung around and upwards, nearly catching a second man across the arms. A knife clattered to the ground over a heavy scream. Eriol knelt down and picked up the weapon, checking it slightly and tossing it a safe distance away.

"Who's next?" he asked, slamming the end of the staff to the pavement.

The group of thugs responded instantly, spreading out and stalking towards the two prepared teens. A group of four of them charged before their companions. Two held knives in their hands. Eriol instantly targeted the two of them as his targets. The other two wouldn't stand much of a chance against the arced electricity contained within Tomoyo's hand.

"You think you can handle a few of them?" he called over his shoulder.

"I'm pretty sure they'll regret getting past you," she replied with acrid sweetness. He could hear the sparks flitting from the taser in her hands. "Just let them try."

Eriol squared off, both hands ready to swing his staff around. He stepped forward and thrust with the butt of his makeshift spear. It caught one of the men in the shoulder, turning his quick charge into a stumble. A quick coup-de-grace sealed the minor victory. Two men broke away, darting towards his left and right. A quick check revealed neither was noticeably armed with a blade, so he let them past.

He ducked under the slash of the second man. Launching a side kick – taught by his adorable descendant – at the chest of that attacker, he felt the satisfactory thud of impact and watched the man crumple to the ground. The snap-crack of electricity and a loud scream in the background told him that Tomoyo was having equivalent success with her enemies. A quick axe kick ensured his quarry would not be rising in the near future.

Focusing, he took his fighting stance again to the sound of a second body hitting the ground. A short feminine cheer followed and he looked back to make sure Tomoyo was doing fine. She flashed him a quick thumb's up. Her eyes widened, and she pointed ahead of him.

He turned, ducking instinctively and took a foot to the chin. The blow sent him sprawling backwards. The intense taste of iron flooded his mouth. Spitting and cursing, he rolled with the impact and managed to make his way back to his feet. He could hear Tomoyo's violent swearing.

Making a mental note to ask her where she learned such language, he slashed her first assailant across the back. The man cried out and collapsed to his knees, trying to grasp at the gash in his back.

Eriol charged forwards and planted the rounded end of the staff into the pavement. Using the force generated from his vault, he thrust both feet outward. In his exuberance, he overshot his target and only caught her second assailant in the shoulders. Eriol went one way; the man stumbled in the opposite direction. Unfortunately, that direction was also into the Tomoyo's awaiting prongs. The man jerked at the contact and slammed into the ground.

Tomoyo was anything but her normally composed self. One sleeve of her blouse was torn and perspiration coated her brow. She lunged left and right, jabbing her weapon at any man who dared try and close the distance to her. Her other hand wielded what Eriol finally recognized as a metal bar. She was effectively holding three men at bay, and the rapidly approaching footsteps signaled the arrival of reinforcements.

Her eyes danced with fury and frustration as he leapt into the fray. He brought the staff down like a hammer and felt something give on his target that shouldn't move. Flicking the tip to the side, he slapped at one of the attackers advance. He stepped into the attack and lashed out with a quick high-low kick combination that took the man to the pavement.

He shouted a warning to Tomoyo who neatly stepped towards him to avoid the attack. She spun sideways to avoid his thrust at the attacker behind her. She nearly ran into him but she danced to the side.

"Where did you learn to do all of that?" he asked.

"You aren't the only one that's learned a few tricks," she said with a slight grin. "Mother's bodyguards consider me quite the capable student." She rolled to the right and brought her legs together in a scissors. The man trapped in her attack toppled down and she jabbed her taser into his legs. He jerked with a spasm and fell silent.

"It's amazing," he breathed, dodging a knife slash to his head. The man moved past him and towards Tomoyo. He focused his attention to the still-rushing duo before him. Moving to the side, he whipped the staff around and felt it impact with something soft and fleshy. He grunted, forcing the staff to complete the arc and smashed it into the oncoming attacker. The man crumpled while the second one danced inside the range of his staff.

Eriol thrust forward with a kick while the man brought his elbow down hard. With a grunt, Eriol fell to one knee. He brought the staff before him in as a defensive measure.

It was too late.

He grunted as the knife found its way inside his defenses. The blade slashed across his arm, shooting spasms up his nerves. His hand could not longer grasp his staff and it clattered to the ground. His other hand quickly pressed over the deep wound. There wasn't enough time to cast a spell and defend himself, so he opted for the latter option. He raised himself to his feet and grinned.

"You still won't take her," he said with a smile he did not feel at the moment.

"I'd look behind you," the man said with a grin.

Eriol looked behind his opponent to find that the rest of the thugs had disappeared. Behind him, he heard a scream and then silence. He risked the slight turn required to look behind him. One much large man was directly behind him, nearly blocking his view. A glint of metal in the lamp light showed that any physical attempt to save Tomoyo would no doubt be futile. The man stepped it and locked his grip around Eriol's arm. Twistly sharply, the man brought the limb up and behind Eriol, leaving very little room for maneuvering. Eriol began chanting as quietly as he could. The familiar stirrings of magic began to flood his veins.

Tomoyo was struggling in the arms of two men. He clothes were in utter disarray and her taser lay before her on the pavemtn. One of her captors had his hand over her mouth. She had apparently bit him numerous times as he was bleeding from multiple places on his other hand. Her eyes were filled less with terror and more with anger. She wriggled in his grasp, flailing her legs out before the second of her assailants placed a knife to her throat.

"No!" he shouted, struggling against his captor, "leave her alone!"

The man behind him slammed his palms hard against Eriol's temples. The teen let out a startled mouthful of air before slumping forwards. His captor released the hold on his arm, and Eriol could only see the ground, rushing to meet him.

A third man stepped into view. He clapped gently and stooped down to pick the fallen taser from the ground. Flicking the switch on, he pressed the object into Tomoyo's arm. She screamed for only a moment before falling silent. Slumped in the arms of the two men holding her, Tomoyo appeared lifeless save for the shallow rise and fall of her chest. The man, satisfied with his actions, motioned for the other two goons to take Tomoyo away.

"You," he said calmly, turning towards Eriol's prone body, "have caused us considerable irritation and headache in this retrieval. Fortunately for me, those who interfere and witness such actions as this are quickly eliminated."

Stepping forwards, he put a booted heel on Eriol's back. Pulling a knife from his pocket, he took careful aim. "Too bad kid… you put up quite the fight."

Drawing his arm far back, the man swung it forward.

_Post fiction…_

We go back to Sakura with the next update, so the fates of Eriol and Meilin will just have to wait. In retrospect, I'm sorry this fiction is so dark and all, but I really never intended to have it go this long. But, alas, it did. Blame silly ideas and all, but I've been trying to figure out a sane and competent way to end this all. That truly isn't coming to me, so this will sadly have to drag out for a little while longer. I see about five or six chapters (with chapter 24 being a two-parter) to go.

Please stick with me until then, because I promise this has a happy(-ish) ending.


	26. Neo, 24: Disarray I: Sakura

Fallen Neo

Written by: Ciuline Ihmenjo

Card Captor Sakura does not belong to me. The characters in Card Captor Sakura do not belong to me. CLAMP owns CCS. Besides, even if you do try and sue me, I have no money.

_Pre-fiction…_

Sorry, this was supposed to be a Christmas post, but I had a lot of hours that I had to work this holiday season. Hopefully, all of you will enjoy this latest chapter. Things are starting to look up, if only a little bit.

My only qualm lately is: where have all the reviewers gone? I haven't had review counts this dismal since I first posted Fallen: Neo. I hope that you all decide to leave reviews for this chapter… because I really do read ever single one and even respond to those with good advice/input/questions for me. I really do value the input, so, please please, please, review this chapter!

If you have any questions for me… just add them to your review and I'll try and answer them as soon as I can.

_Italicized words_ are thoughts. **Bold words** are emphasis. CAPS WORDS are shouting.

**o()o Disarray I: Sakura o()o**

Suddenly, green and red were mixing. Syaoran let out a surprised grunt and slammed into the ground, clutching his stomach. He lay there for a moment, blood seeping from his wound as he tried to rise to a more dignified position. Nothing seemed to happen and he finally stopped moving. The only sounds were that of Sentry laughing almost uncontrollably and the gasping wheeze of Syaoran's breath. The rest was silence save for the lingering echoes of a scream.

Sakura stared dumbly as Syaoran lay still on the ground. The only sound in her ears was the sounds of her own renewed screams. She couldn't even feel her body. It was numb from her toes to the tips of her hair.

"Pity that such vermin must decide to interfere with business that isn't its own." Sentry stepped neatly over Syaoran's body, advancing on her. "Besides, because you weren't cooperating, it seems my men had to take more drastic measures.

Sakura stopped dead. The sweat on her body froze in an instant. "What measures?"

"They've taken your little friend… that rich girl." Sentry looked down at her, shrugging casually. "What does it matter? You'll be dead soon enough."

Her fingers reflexively clutched the wand, buried in the dirt beside her. "Don't you dare touch Tomoyo."

"Or what?"

"I'll hunt you to the ends of the earth," she growled, "if you even harm a hair on her head."

"Like I said," Sentry checked the cartridge on the pistol and continued with a smile, "soon you'll be dead and you just won't have to worry about that anymore."

"God damn you," she seethed. She couldn't even see straight. Red tinged the edges of her vision. She knew the color wasn't from blood. All she could think about was how nicely this man's head would turn to mush beneath her fingers.

"Now, be a good girl and stand still for me."

She rose shakily to her feet. Ever inch her body rose seemed to steady her posture. Giving a good jerk on the staff, she freed it from its earthy prison. A shower of soil and grass came with it, raining down around her. "I'll kill you," she said softly.

"Excuse me?" Sentry said with a laugh. "What was that?"

"I'll kill you!" she shouted. She brought the staff forwards, gripping it before her.

"With what?" Sentry asked. A grin spread across his face. "You have a little pink stick, I have a gun. I wonder… which of us will win?"

"Yes, but this time you aren't holding my friend hostage," Sakura seethed. "And you're taking too long!" _Shield, protect myself and Syaoran! Time, halt Syaoran's time to stop his bleeding!_ She smiled knowingly as the cards responded to her mental summons. The faint flicker of Shield in the space before her told her that it was now safe. A glance to her right saw the kind form of Time standing over Syaoran's inert form. The spirit brought a hand up and the bubble of shield appeared briefly around him. She swung her staff out with one arm, leveling it in Sentry's direction. "This time a coward like you has no shield to hide behind!"

"Too long?" Scoffing, he pointed the gun at her. "Yes, but you have no shield either." He trained the gun on her body. "It's a pity you didn't come with me. This could have all been averted." Sakura clenched her jaw, but the beginnings of a vicious grin were tugging at her cheeks. Sentry read it at nervousness. He responded by tightening his grip and gently inching the trigger back. "You can't stop bullets, dear."

Sakura's eyes flashed as she charged forwards. "Watch me."

Sentry's eyes turned to slits and he squeezed off the shot. Shield flickered into existence before her. To the non-magical eye, the bullet suddenly disappeared, absorbed into the depths of space. To Sakura, Shield shattered the bullet upon impact, scattering metallic dust in the grass.

Sentry's eyes instantly widened. He pointed the gun, squeezing the trigger once, twice, and then a third time. Each bullet disappeared, the same as his first shot. He dropped the gun and began to back away.

"What are you?" he gasped.

"I am your judgment," she said with a level tone, "here to deliver the fate you so justly deserve."

He continued to back away, quicker now and stumbling, holding his hands out before him. "N-now listen here," he stammered, "s-surely we can c-come to some sort of compromise?"

"Compromise?" she roared. "Did you ever compromise when those customers of yours raped me?" She shut her eyes, mentally commanding her cards before her. They appeared, shimmering into the air in a ring of pink light.

_Sword, Sand, Shot, come to my aid._ Each card slipped away from the ring and appeared before her.

Sentry stopped. "You must be crazy. Hell, I must be crazy too."

Sakura only smiled, still advancing towards him. "You put me through more than six months of hell. When I'm through with you, you'll wish you had been in my place." She snapped her arm to her side as her wand quickly morphed into its sword form. Stepping forwards, she gave him a smile. "See, I am most likely one of the most powerful magic users in the world. Right now, due to your hand, I am also in a very unstable state." She paused, almost as if trying to figure out what to say. "This 'stick' of mine can attack only what I wish it to. I can pierce flesh and not bone, slice hair but not skull." She gave an experimental slash at the air and a cloud of dirt rose in the air between them.

Sentry let out a nervous grin. "That's it… y-you're crazy. I-I just hit my head or something."

Sakura lunged forwards, slashing with her sword and tearing a rip in his shirt. The cut never drew blood. Sentry looked down at his shirt, looked up at his assailant, and ran. Sakura didn't bother to move: she knew she could catch him in an instant using dash. She sent Shot ahead of her, to track his movements, but not to kill him. She didn't want him dead. At least, she was level headed enough for that. If she wanted to know where Tomoyo was being taken, she would have to get the information from this man.

Sakura waited, listening to the pings of Shot off the trees in the park. She smiled, knowing that Sand would make his progress difficult and should be herding him back towards her position. Walking over to a tree, she leaned against it, following the crashes in the underbrush with her eyes. It wasn't long before Sentry crashed back through the bushes. Shot launched its attacks, the bullets pinging harmlessly against Shield. The entire ground around was littered with Sand as the card softened all but a small circle of grass for running purposes.

"What the hell are you doing?" he shouted. His eyes were reddened and he sported tiny cuts from where he had scratched against branches.

"I told you, I am judgment incarnate, here to grant you the justice you so rightly deserve." Sakura stepped out from the tree she was leaning against. "Now tell me… what did you do to Tomoyo?" She leveled the sword with his throat, letting the pointed tip do the threatening for her.

"They'll take her and break her the same way they broke you." He smiled darkly. "You can kill me. Go right ahead. They'll still have her and you're still powerless to do anything."

"I'm more powerful than you could ever know." She slashed at him again, opening a gash on his arm. Sentry swore and pressed a hand over the angry red line. "You tell me what they are going to do to her and where they are going to take her." She did not have to add the threat at the end of her sentence. Her words hung idly in the air.

"You can't be serous?" Sentry laughed. "You think you can fight them?"

"I know I can fight them." Sakura bored her glare into his skull. "And I'll win."

"They'll kill everyone before you get a chance to strike. So much innocent blood on your hands..." Sentry's eyes widened and he gave a crazed laugh. "They'll even kill your little friends! EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM!"

"God damn you!" Sakura charged forward smashing the butt of Sword straight into his nose. Grabbing him by the collar, she called on Power and Fight. Lifting him high into the air, by his collar, she shook him hard. "Tell me what I want to know."

Sentry pursed his lips. "Do what you want, but they'll kill me just the same."

She tossed him to the side, following the arc of his body and launched a side kick into him. She made sure regulate her strength so as not to bruise anything. He rolled a few times after hitting the ground before finally coming to a stop a few yards away from her. He pushed himself to his knees and then settled back in a sitting position.

"You've lost this round, dear." Sentry coughed, spitting blood as he did so.

Sakura only glared, leveling her sword at him. She sliced at the air, watching as another cut opened up on his cheek. "Unless you want me to slice your eye next, I suggest you tell me what I need to know."

Sentry chuckled. "You really think it's that easy?" He began laughing, pounding a fist into the dirt. "You can do whatever you please to me, but I assure you, my stubbornness doesn't lie in loyalty but in fear. Whatever you think you'll extract from my mouth won't be coming to you."

She smiled. "Shall I try breaking you fingers and asking you the same question?"

"You could break every bone in my body and I wouldn't talk."

"That could be arranged," she countered softly. "You never cared for anyone but yourself, and now you're giving me this high and mighty routine?" She hauled back and kicked him in the face, making sure to call off Power so she wouldn't kill him.

He measured his length in the grass and clenched at his now-bleeding nose. "You can't imagine what they are like." His words were distorted as he tried to staunch the blood flow. "What the entire organization has the power to do. You just can't fathom how far they reach in every aspect of society."

Sakura slammed her staff down, inches in front of him. "So what if I can't? They have my friends. On your orders, they tried to kill all of them."

"Yes, but I did that all on **their** orders."

She turned around. "Never mind… you aren't ever worth my time. You're only a peon in this system." Walking away, she shut her eyes. "Never come near me or my friend again." Syaoran needed to get to a hospital. She needed to figure out how to contact Eriol, if only to confirm what her heart already dreaded. She pulled the staff free and began to walk away.

"If," he growled, "you had bothered to cooperate, this would not be happening."

"This wouldn't be happening?" she seethed. Jerking around, she swung the staff with all her might. It smashed against his shoulder, and his body sailed away from her. He hit the ground like a stone, rolling along the grass before slamming into a tree.

"God damn you!" she cried out. "I should kill you! I should show you all the mercy you ever showed to me!"

Sakura charged towards the prone form, her staff high over her head. Every fiber of her being was intent on destroying him. Six months poured back into her brain in a flash. Syaoran falling came back to her in an instant.

"Sakura, STOP!"

She couldn't. Her body wouldn't let her. Most of all, she didn't want to. Suddenly, the giant form of Kero imposed himself before her. She slammed full-tilt into the golden furred beast and bounced neatly off him.

"I command you to move!" she cried out, tears streaming down her face. "I COMMAND YOU!" she screamed at him.

Kero stood his ground, his body trembling from the effort necessary to refuse the order. "I'm afraid I cannot do that, Sakura."

"I am your master!" she shouted at his unyielding form, "I order you to move out of the way!" She stepped to the left and stalked forward only to be stopped by a gout of flame. She fell backwards and glared at him, hatred radiating from her body.

"And I told you I cannot do that," he said, his voice more somber than Yue's normal tone. Still, he trembled.

"It's okay," Yue said, placing a calm hand on her shoulder. She hadn't even heard him approach. "For now, it's over."

"But they took Tomoyo!" Sakura cried out.

"Yes," Kero replied, "we know. They also nearly killed all of your friends."

Sakura paled. She looked over at Syaoran, where a distinctly weary-looking Time nodded to her. "What can I do?"

"For now, you'll have to take him to the hospital." Yue nodded. "My other self says that I'll have to change back." The white-haired guardian paused. "I agree. This form would arouse unwanted suspicion." Yue closed his eyes, beginning the transformation back to Yukito.

Kero fluttered over, now in his smaller form so he was situated behind the transforming Yue. "Meilin is on her way to the emergency room. Eriol is badly shaken but going there as well. You did the best you could under the present circumstances." He frowned, placing a paw on her shoulder. "I just wish we could have gotten here faster. We could have helped."

Sakura looked down at the ground and then to Syaoran. "I don't think so," she said softly. "I have so much power in myself now. I don't know exactly where it all came from, but from here on out, this is my fight."

_Post-fiction…_

Okay, a lot of people are going to wonder why she doesn't just rewind time. It lies in the fact that if you do actually turn back time, you cannot stop the present events from actually occurring. They may not happen in the exact same way, but they still are going to happen. Syaoran would still be wounded in the stomach, Meilin would still be bleeding out, and Tomoyo would still have been taken. There isn't anything that Sakura can do to change that because it has already happened.

Like in the episode where they caught time: Syaoran still had to deal with that soccer ball every single day. The recorder test was still there… but because they knew about it, they could try and deal with it in a different way. It's just that, with something so severe, our heroes will still have to deal with the consequences.

See you next update: _Ciuline_ _Ihmenjo_


	27. Neo 24: Disarray II: Guardians

Fallen Neo

Written by: Ciuline Ihmenjo

Card Captor Sakura does not belong to me. The characters in Card Captor Sakura do not belong to me. CLAMP owns CCS. Besides, even if you do try and sue me, I have no money.

_Pre-fiction…_

Okay, there's the ongoing problem of what sex to consider Ruby Moon. I'm keeping Ruby a she if only for the purpose of making it much easier to switch between the _male_ Spinel and the _female_ Ruby. Pronouns and all that become much easier that way.

I had a lot of trouble pulling this chapter together. It was all lose bits and pieces and nothing really connecting them all together… so I kinda wrote myself into a corner. And that is the exact reason that it has taken me so long to release this chapter! Well, school did play some part into it, but it was mostly due to lack of inspiration and an inability to move from my little written corner.

Anyhow, I'm going to keep doing my little "bitch about the lack of reviews" section of the intro knowing full well that most people just skip over this. **Please review my story!!** **PLEASE?** Perhaps I should have "I'll send you such-and-such if you review" incentives or something? That might bring the numbers up! (sarcasm in last two sentences… hopefully utterly understood).

If you have any questions for me… just add them to your review and I'll try and answer them as soon as I can.

_Italicized words_ are thoughts. **Bold words** are emphasis. CAPS WORDS are shouting.

**o()o Disarray II: Guardians o()o**

Ruby Moon, in the guise of Nakuru, froze in her tracks. The bowl of sugar destined to be upended into the gullet of one Spinel Sun fell from her hands, shattering on the polished wood floor. Cocking her head, trying to distinguish the noise again, she felt a shudder travel up her spine. She turned, even as her intended victim rounded the corner.

"Did you hear that?" she asked cautiously.

Spinel's gaze shifted from the shattered bowl of sugar to Ruby's trembling hands. She could instantly tell the thought of terror that crossed his mind. His sigh of relief was clearly audible in the silence. "It sounded like the Master, but he's still out on errands."

"He screamed!" she shouted, waving her arms up and down. "He must be in trouble!" Nakuru stumbled towards the door, the cocoon of magic enveloping her as she tottered on unsteady feet.

"I can only hear static at the moment." The full-grown Spinel Sun greeted the newly transformed guardian at the entrance to the kitchen. He wore an equally concerned expression. "But lately, the Clow Mistress has been generating quite a lot of that."

Ruby Moon appeared before him, shaking off the remains of her jitters. "If we had gone shopping with them, then we wouldn't be in this stupid predicament in the first place!" She stomped her foot on the ground for emphasis.

"We're wasting time," Spinel replied, smoothly. "Besides, if you hadn't single-handedly closed down an entire shopping mall… as well as two blocks of the surrounding stores…" the black-furred animal stopped short as Ruby's face steeled into a look of utter contempt.

"If you even consider blaming this on me," she growled, stomping over to the sliding door and slamming it open. Letting her threat hang in the air, she unfurled her wings. The guardian stepped out onto the balcony and took flight.

"I'm not," he replied, "I'm merely informing you that the poor decision on a previous outing has put us into this mess in the first place." Spinel was a mere step behind her, surging forward to fly parallel to his counterpart. "Besides, we need to be searching for Eriol and the others right now. If he was able to push through the Clow Mistress's haze then they certainly have run into some trouble."

"You know," Ruby muttered, "with all this interference it's a wonder we even heard his mental shout."

"I heard it clearly," Spinel replied smartly over the mental link that the guardians shared. "Perhaps the interference is coming from the cobwebs in your brain?"

Ruby ignored the snide remark.

"Were you able to contact Yuki and that annoying ball of fuzz?" Spinel asked.

"Oh!" She gasped, fumbling about her attire, before producing a small red cell phone. Quickly tapping a memorize sequence of keys, she hit the call button. A piercing burst of static assailed her ears, and she nearly dropped the phone.

"I guess that takes that option out of the picture." Spinel stopped short, beating his wings in order to hover in the air. His head cocked to one side as he listened intently for any signs of distress. Suddenly, something burst through the static. And then the static was gone.

Anger and despair rang clear through the night, blocking out anything else. Both guardians faltered, unsure of whether to proceed forward. The mere suggestion of movement paralyzed them. Spinel focused intently on his surroundings, trying to find even the tinniest inkling of Eriol's presence. Ruby looked around, a frightened expression plastered upon her normally jesting features. No magic even pervaded in the air save for the presence a within an arms length from her. Even that signal was faint. The sound of her phone ringing – one of the latest songs to top the pop charts – broke the two magical beings out of their respective trances and brought movement to them once again.

"Hello?" Ruby said softly, flipping the phone with trembling hands. "Master?"

"It's me," replied the unusually grave voice of Kero. "We're setting out to find Sakura. You two should focus on the others." She heard a brief burst of static and cringed. "I think something terrible has happened. Though, if there aren't any auras, I wouldn't expect too much." Ruby choked on her next words as her thoughts turned to the worst possibilities.

"I can feel Sakura somewhere near the park. She's surging. We need to do something. Quickly. Before it is too late." She could hear him conversing with someone – probably Yue – and then he continued in his gravelly voice. "I'll be going now. I hope everyone is safe."

"I do, too," she whispered.

O o o o o O

They had parted ways, knowing that two sets of wings would do much better searching as separate entities rather than a single one. She had been flying about over block after block of indistinguishable alleyways and empty streets when Ruby felt the weak pulse. She turned sharply towards the location, but not before something else caught her attention. She stopped abruptly, hovering in the air while keeping her eyes on the alleyways below her. The sharp pang of battle still tinged the air. She could sense it from two locations in the immediate vicinity. Her eyes flickered over these locations, tracing the echoes from the strongest points to the weakest.

"Soupy," she called softly, her body tense and nervous.

"I thought I told you not to use that name," the guardian best replied curtly.

"I sense bloodlust," she whispered, her voice cracking even over the telepathic link, "but it's in separate directions. It is a few distinctly different signals. There is one here, but another that's farther away. One of them, the closer one… it's familiar, but it's not Him."

"That's a relief."

"But weren't Meilin and Tomoyo with Eriol as well?"

"Yes…" Spinel replied. She could feel the shiver that ran up his spine as he quickly ran situations through his mind. "Why?"

"I can't sense Eriol! He's not here. He's somewhere other than here." She sniffled and scanned the ground. "I should be able to at least sense the Clow Mistress and the others. And I've known Daidouji so long that I'm usually able to pick her up."

"Then the cobwebs aren't as dense as I thought they were." Spinel's voice was not at all amused. "That's been troubling me as well."

"It could be the interference?" Uncertain hope tinged her voice.

"I hope so," the guardian responded, "but, seeing as how I can't sense Yue and that annoying excuse for a stuffed animal, I wouldn't place quite as much worry on the issue."

"But… the tinge of battle… it's everywhere in my vicinity."

"Do you see anything?" Spinel asked. "If there was fighting, there must be signs."

"Nothing," she replied, continuing to scan the ground below her.

It was then that her eyes picked out a solitary figure. "I see someone. It's not Eriol. It's not Tomoyo."

"Then Meilin?"

"I'm not sure." Ruby descended into the alleyway and took a closer look at the figure.

"Be careful, it might be one of them."

"I will." Ruby Moon spiraled down towards the prone figure. She slowed, back-winging at the last second to narrowly avoid slamming into the bricks.

Somehow Meilin had managed to drag herself to the edge of the alley. She had propped her body against the wall on her uninjured shoulder. Her wound was still trickling blood and a small pool had gathered beneath her to join the thin trail leading to this spot and a few long strips of cloth were currently wrapped over the wound. There were still figures, facedown and strewn about the alley.

Ruby called her name again, tentatively touching the girl's face. Her eyes fluttered open. Her gaze was dim and her breathing came in ragged gasps.

"Meilin!" Ruby took the girl and shook her gently.

Slowly, the Chinese girl's bleary gaze came into focus. She looked up at the butterfly-winged guardian and worked her mouth into a pained smile.

"Are… they… okay?" she asked haltingly.

"We…" Ruby gritted her teeth, gathering the dark-haired girl in her arms, "we don't know."

Meilin winced and curled into the guardian's chest. Ruby could hear the sobs. She could feel the damp stain creeping across her chest. "I tried." The voice was ragged, broken by sobs. Meilin tried to hide herself away.

"I know."

O o o o o O

Spinel was having more luck. He arrived just in time to see a black van speeding away. Unfortunately, Eriol did not seem to be as lucky. The man was saying something, lost to the red before Spinel's vision.

Eriol had often expressed his distaste for violence. Even more so, he had discussed often his abhorrence for killing. At this point, Spinel did not care. Tomoyo was gone. Her presence lingered, but seemed to vanish into thin air. Eriol was seconds away from death. And the idea of incineration suddenly appealed greatly to him.

Spinel touched down, saw the widening eyes of the man attempting to plunge a knife into the back of the prone figure before him. It was the last sight the man saw before he was knocked on his back and extinguished in a flash of ruby light. The only sign of his prior existence was a dent in the pavement.

The other man backed away slowly. The idea of a winged panther had either slowed his brain or frozen his survival instinct. Spinel lunged forward, teeth bared. The jarring impact sent the man sprawling onto his back. The sound of enamel meeting enamel rang off the pavement.

In this instance, logic prevailed. As the man slumped into blissful unconsciousness, Spinel tended to his master.

"Eriol," the beast muttered, shaking the fallen boy. He rolled the teenager over.

Eriol groaned. Blood was trickling down his face from his nose. His eyes were rolled back into his head, but his breathing rate was constant. His aura was not flickering. Above all, he was furious. It rolled off him in waves. And, finally, after minutes of waiting, his eyes resumed normal function.

His first reaction was not his usual cool, collected, level-headedness. He panicked. "What happened? Where's Tomoyo?" He looked up at the guardian of the black fur and swore. He cursed and slammed his fist into the ground.

"God damn it!" He struggled to his feet, but his knees were shaking. "Spinel, what is going on?"

"The Clow Mistress is in trouble."

"I've known that," Eriol muttered. "But it was all a diversion. She may not have even been their original target."

"That information doesn't help you," Spinel replied. "What we do know is that you are bleeding. Meilin needs to get to a hospital – quickly. And Sakura most likely needs to be told what has occurred tonight."

Eriol winced. "I'm bleeding?" he said, patting his arms and body before locating the offending red trickle from his nose.

"Ruby is on the way to the hospital. She has Meilin. I'm certain Sakura may be headed there as well."

"We thought we could protect her," Eriol bit his lower lip. "I can't believe how stupid we were." He leaned heavily on his guardian for support. "This isn't over. Not by far."

_Post-fiction…_

Not much to say. The next chapter will be out as soon as I have the time to write it. Coming up on the end of the year crunch. Hope you all will stick with me (after all, you have so far). I thank you all for your patience with my long absences.

See you next update: _Ciuline_ _Ihmenjo_


	28. Neo: Spiral

Fallen Neo

Written by: Ciuline Ihmenjo

Card Captor Sakura does not belong to me. The characters in Card Captor Sakura do not belong to me. CLAMP owns CCS. Besides, even if you do try and sue me, I have no money.

_Pre-fiction…_

Well, again, it has been a long while since my last update: far too long, if you were to ask me. Unfortunately, work and locating funding for the next semester of college have come before fiction writing. This is my hobby and a large passion of mine, but at times, life comes first before one can go play.

Again, thank you to those who have reviewed and bigger thanks to those who have stuck with me all this time, you all are my biggest boon.

I should be releasing the second chapter of Splinters sometime in the near future as I finally figured out where I'm going with that story. I also plan to have a fourth kiss up for my 30 kisses fiction before August begins. If I have the inspiration, expect to see another chapter for Covered in Rain after that. In the mean time, I will continue to chug along with Fallen, hopefully releasing chapter "29" by the end of August.

If you have any questions for me… just add them to your review and I'll try and answer them as soon as I can.

_Italicized words_ are thoughts. **Bold words** are emphasis. CAPS WORDS are shouting.

**o****()o Spiral o()o**

The next thing Eriol remembered was sitting up with a half-startled gasp in the middle of the waiting room floor. He could only remember blackness prior to that moment.

He could hear Spinel's apologetic tones. He could hear his angered voice and his own irritation. His failure… his weakness… his own lack of ability… all of it frustrated him. At that moment, he wanted to curl in a little ball and just fade away.

But someone had to tell Sakura.

This was not a secret that could be contained at all for any length of time. The longer Sakura had to simmer, the worse the end result would be. So, he had steeled himself and decided to tell her bluntly and as soon as he could.

Sakura, though, exploded.

Eriol could remember that much. And he was glad that he had decided to tell her sooner rather than later. Explosions only grow in magnitude, rather than shrinking, when fuel is heaped upon it prior to the blast.

He could not remember limping into the emergency room. He could not recall where Ruby and Spinel had wandered off to, nor if he had sent his Guardians on those wanderings. All he could remember was Tomoyo was in trouble, and Sakura was not taking it well at all.

Her green eyes flared. The gaze of every person in the waiting room bore down on him. They were all whispering. Some wondered if he was the unfortunate boyfriend. Others were ashamed that people would quarrel so violently in such a setting.

It took more strength than Eriol believed he could muster to work his weakened frame out of the prone position on the floor. Every hair on the back of his neck stood erect, nearly to the point of being painful. He could feel where he had impacted with the wall as well as the crumpled wrinkles where Sakura had grabbed his shirt.

Still, she stood there, an entity of fuming hatred and deep sorrow.

He stood, or at least tried to. The world wobbled and down he went. Now, new pains rose to his brain. The throbbing began in his legs and traveled up his spine, radiating outward from his head only to be retained by his skull. He nearly doubled over in pain before he felt Sakura approaching. He rolled slightly, wincing as the pains in his skull redoubled their intensity, and watched her approach.

She grabbed him roughly by his shirt and heaved him upright. He watched her, his eyes full of – what he hoped were – concern and apology. She didn't register any recognition of either emotion. She hurled him into the wall and stood before him as dust rained down around them. The world vibrated and he felt, rather than heard, areas of his body crack.

"Where is she?" Sakura demanded. A few orderlies and the hospital secretary had gotten up and were approaching the scene cautiously. A nurse had picked up the phone and was whispering fiercely into the receiver.

"This isn't the place," Eriol hissed, trying to ignore the tremors that were just beginning in his hands. He groped for her arms before tearing her away from his body. He thought he heard his shirt rip.

"Where is she?" Sakura repeated, lunging for him again. Her skin was pale and her eyes were not her own. Tiny beads of sweat had begun to form all over her body, clearly visible in the light of the waiting room. Her dimmed eyes reflected only savage intentions. And they were locked onto their target.

Eriol could suddenly sense two newer presences. Relief flooded through him as he identified their owners.

Ruby, now Nakuru, surged through the emergency doors to his left while Yukito strode calmly in through the automated doors at the front of the hospital. Each guardian grabbed Sakura roughly under the armpits and silently hauled her backwards. There was muffled applause in the background while Sakura struggled in their grasp.

"Damn it!" she seethed. Her gaze hardened into steel. "Let me go."

Yukito shook his head while Nakuru looked worriedly to her master. Eriol composed himself, ruefully rubbing a now-threadbare spot on his shirt, before marching towards the entrance.

He summoned his staff once they had moved a safe distance from public view and motioned for the two guardians to deposit their charge. He wasn't at all surprised to find Sakura's own magical instrument clutched firmly in her hand. He was surprised that he had neither seen nor felt her activate the enchantment to summon the staff.

"Don't make me use this," Eriol said softly.

"I won't have to," she growled, her voice low and strained, "if you tell me where Tomoyo is." Her eyes bored into his body, almost as if trying to seek the answer there.

"Ruby, Yukito, can you take us somewhere less obtrusive?" he said, ignoring Sakura's demand while trying to keep his voice calm and level. He still could have sworn that his voice had cracked every time he uttered a sentence. Ruby nodded while Yukito looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Tsukimine Shrine should be somewhat deserted." Yukito thought for a moment. "The woods around the park are usually rendezvous for lovers at this time of night, so I'm certain that they would be poor places for privacy. If the main area of the shrine is not empty, I'm sure there would be a quiet place on the grounds for you two to hold your discussion." He nodded and smiled.

"Would you need our wings to get there?" Ruby asked softly, wary of the murmurs of people in the distance.

"It would be nice, as the Clow Mistress seems to be preoccupied with killing me at the moment." His voice was as cold as he felt on the inside. He winced while Sakura's eyes seemed to come back to the present moment.

"Eriol," she said apologetically, but she choked on her next words. Her expression was strained. Still, he could sense that she didn't feel that she owed him an apology.

Somewhere in their minds, both teenagers understood what couldn't be said.

She pulled three cards from her purse and activated them with but a whisper.

And then, the entire congregation of magical beings was airborne: Eriol, borne by Ruby's arms and Sakura by her own wings. Yukito trailed solemnly behind them, now in the form of the usually stoic guardian. Yue wore a concerned expression, tinged with worry, which marred his usual stone expression.

They made the journey in silence until they landed just behind Tsukimine Shrine. Eriol looked away and tried to think of any way to begin this conversation. Yue made no attempt to help things along. Thankfully, Ruby spoke first.

"Meilin is in the emergency room," Ruby blurted out. "They rushed her to surgery, but they aren't sure how she's doing." She toed the ground. "There was so much blood and she wasn't even saying anything and her eyes were really empty, but they said she had a strong heartbeat—as faint as it was—and her breathing was okay even though she was making little gasping noise—"

Eriol placed an arm on his guardian's shoulder. He could see Sakura pale even further than she already was.

"Meilin…" the girl whispered. "Everyone… because of me…"

Her knees gave out and she crumpled to the ground. The staff fell from her limp hands and she buried her face in her hands. He could see her shoulders heaving with each and every breath. Yue was uncertain, choosing to stand away from her and allowing her the distance she so secretly craved. Ruby was all flustered. She kept shifting her attention between both Sakura and her master, unsure of what to do and worried all the same.

"This is not your fault!" Eriol roared. He could feel Ruby jump at the tone of his voice.

"They might die!" Sakura was quick to counter. She was looking at him now, gazing straight into his eyes. Even with the tears blurring her gaze, emerald seemed to pierce his body. Her gaze seemed to look into the very depths of his soul. Eriol shuddered, more at his own inadequacies than anything else.

"They would die for you!" Eriol roared. "Any of us would die for you! For each other!" He extended and hand to her, but she declined, working her way back to her feet by her own free will.

"I never asked for that," she spat.

"Would you give you life for Tomoyo?" he asked softly. He already knew the answer, even as the words drifted off her tongue.

"Of course!" she exclaimed violently.

"Then it is no different in this situation." He held up a hand before she could interrupt him. "You can't blame yourself for anyone else's actions, just Tomoyo shouldn't blame herself for the six months you spent in that godforsaken place." He could remember saying similar words to Tomoyo what seemed like ages and ages in the past. "Besides, Syaoran and Meilin chose this path, not because of you, but because of them. They believe in you. They believe in your invincible spell."

"I barely believe in that these days," Sakura muttered, dusting herself off. She stooped down to collect her staff.

"I believe that you should." He blocked her as she tried to leave. "There is nothing in this world that hope cannot shed some light upon." She tried to push past him, only to be stopped again.

"I can fly out of here. I can go through you." She leveled her staff at his face. "Or, you can kindly step aside."

"You shouldn't leave," he said softly.

Yue stepped forward, finally finding his voice. "If you go back there, what more can you do for them?"

"Then you suggest that I just stand around and do nothing?" she snapped, whirling around on her own guardian. The staff rippled, shifting into the form of the Sword.

"Not at all," Yue said, placing a gentle hand on the blade and moving it aside. Eriol held his breath when Sakura flinched.

"Then what?" she asked.

"They've taken Tomoyo," Eriol said, "and placed our friends in the hospital." His eyes, usually full of mischief narrowed to slits. "They probably plan on striking out against our other friends as well. They may target anyone we even remotely associate with. I plan on taking actions to prevent that from even happening."

Sakura's breath caught and she closed her eyes. "Would they…?" She didn't dare finish her question as the memories threatened to burst from the locked section of her mind. Her body stiffened in an instant, all of her joints locking out.

Eriol nodded. "They attacked us without warning. If we were ordinary people, we would have been caught completely off guard. We may have all died in that case. Instead, they have only succeeded in doing one thing: making us angry. Though now they know that we are not an ordinary threat." Sakura nodded, her grasp tightening on her staff.

"They should consider me a very unordinary threat if they even think about—"

Eriol held up a hand. "You can't just do something rash."

"They. Have. Tomoyo." Sakura glared at him. "I refuse to let them do to her what they did to me!" Her expression turned pleading. "I can't… she can't go through that." Her voice lowered almost beyond the limits of human hearing. "No on should go through that…"

Eriol made a motion to step forward before stopping. "You're right," he said finally. "But we also don't know anything but they used to be in the building over the dumpster where you were found."

"They've moved," Sakura pounded her staff against the ground. Eriol was thankful it no longer had the form of the Sword. "Of course they've moved," she muttered. Suddenly, her gaze was on him again. "Don't you do work as a doctor for them?"

"Only to find you," he replied.

"Oh, then you aren't still…" she trailed off. Eriol shut his eyes, thankful that he did not have to answer that question.

"We need to protect the others," he said softly. "I think that Ruby and Yukito would be best to check on Yamazaki and Mihara from afar."

Sakura brightened a little. "I'm working on a project with Rika and Naoko, so I can go to their house and sleep over as an excuse for tonight and actually do some work on it in the morning." She looked his way. "We can send Kero and Spinel to check on them in the mean time."

Eriol nodded. "I think that they can keep surveillance on our friends tonight, but we can put into place our own defenses in the near future."

"I can handle defenses. Shot and Shield should do well. Sword isn't going to work here. Perhaps Windy, Firey..." she trailed off for a moment, lost in though, "I might want to put up Maze a few other cards as well." Sakura was drawing cards from her deck as quickly as she named them. The dozen or so she had chosen made a ring around her head, almost like some strange pink halo, as she began to invoke their magic.

"Will you be okay?" Eriol asked.

"I'll be fine," Sakura said with a slight grunt, "I've done worse." The spirits trapped within the cards streaked off into the night, lines of faintly glowing light, to fulfill their orders. Sakura seem to shimmer for a moment, like heat coming off a summer pavement. She looked at him, sunken features and frayed hair. She was significantly paler than usual, her features more haggard than Eriol remembered.

Eriol didn't question her abilities or her appearance. Sakura threw him a thankful look. "First, we'll ensure our families and friends will be safe." Eriol clenched his fist so hard he drew blood. "Then, we can make sure those responsible for tonight pay."

_Post-fiction…_

Again, not much to say. I hope those of you who do read this story will continue to review and support my work. To the others who have gotten to this point, thank you very much for reading this story. Without any of you, I don't think I'd be writing any of this. I'm sorry updates are taking so long these days, but it's been difficult for me to actually sit down and type.

_See you next update: Ciuline Ihmenjo_


	29. Neo: Ashes

Fallen Neo

Written by: Ciuline Ihmenjo

Card Captor Sakura does not belong to me. The characters in Card Captor Sakura do not belong to me. CLAMP owns CCS. Besides, even if you do try and sue me, I have no money.

_Pre-fiction…_

It's been a while. A very long while. And because I've been gone for such a long time, I'm very sorry that you haven't gotten a chance to read more of this story.

Welcome to part one of an Ihmenjo double-update. Thought you guys might enjoy some more of my writings, as they've been a bit lacking as of late. I've been extremely busy with my research as well as college in general. Writing is one of the last things on my mind when I get home, eat food, and collapse on my bed after homework.

If you have any questions for me… just add them to your review and I'll try and answer them as soon as I can.

_Italicized words_ are thoughts. **Bold words** are emphasis. CAPS WORDS are shouting.

**o****()o Ashes o()o**

She wasn't surprised to find Eriol suddenly beside her. Just as she was sure he was not surprised at all to find her sitting in a tree. Not that trees had not been a favored spot of hers. No, trees were more his forte, but Sakura had to think of the current situation. She watched as he sat down, popping noises sounding from his joints.

"Ruby is watching over the hospital to make sure there are not any moves on our friends. I was going to set up a barrier there, but Ruby says she senses Shield and Windy." He smiled a little at her. "That was a good choice, by the way. They would be much harder to notice."

"It's why I chose her," Sakura said blinking sleep from her eyes. "And Shield doesn't appear to anyone but those with magical powers." She looked at him, and he sensed something almost condescending about her expression. "You should know that. Besides, they have rather specific tasks."

"Almost makes you wish for the days where I was sending you all over Tomoeda." He stretched, wincing slightly, and leaned back against the sturdy trunk of the tree.

"It does," she said, more to herself than as an actual response. He gave her a slight nod as if to agree. She looked away, back towards her home. "Rika and Naoko are too busy with their own work to do anything tomorrow, so we decided to have a rain check. Yukito said something about ensuring Naoko's safety. I know that I can trust him."

Eriol squinted his eyes in concentration. He thought for a moment. "I've sent Spinel to watch Yanagisawa's house."

"I know." Eriol stared at her for a moment, but didn't bother to question her. "Kero is already guarding Rika." She flashed a wan smile. "I've sent enough sweets with him to last at least until the morning."

"Sakura?"

"Hmm?" She didn't look up at him. Instead, she continued to stare into her house. Her brother had opened the door to her room again to see if she had returned. Her father was working on something for his next day's lecture. A door slammed shut in the distance and seemed to shatter the silence between the two teenagers. Sakura looked up, somewhat stunned for a moment, and then seemed to realize where she was.

"Was it important?" she asked.

"Was what important?" Eriol regarded her strangely.

"That thing you wanted to discuss with me…"

When Eriol didn't respond, she leaned forward to gain his attention. She was about to give up when he cleared his throat. He continued his nearly-abandoned thought. His tone was cautious and hesitant and every word wanted to stick in his throat. "Do you remember anything from the Houses?"

Sakura seemed to shrink in on herself. For a long while, the only sounds were muffled industry in the Kinomoto residence and the occasional chirrup of a nearby cricket. "I… have nightmares," she said so softly that he almost didn't hear her. "I don't think those really count as memories though. But, at the same time, every nightmare is just someone, one of them, holding me down. It's all the same really." She stopped and began fiddling with the disguised staff around her neck. "Sentry would wake me. Some small girl would stumble in with breakfast. They'd unchain me to allow me to use the bathroom and herd me back into my little cell. And then they'd usher in customer after customer until there were none left. At some point, I'd get lunch if they didn't forget. Dinner would come after I was through for the day. If I didn't earn enough, I'd be beaten. If my manner wasn't up to par, I'd be beaten. They'd make sure, though, that I wasn't dead and that no one killed me." She stared into the house again and then past the walls, watching her brother settling in to go to sleep. "Why do you want to know?"

"I want to know what I can do to help Tomoyo," Eriol replied. "After your escape… they changed their protocols. I need to how much of what they do there has been altered."

"How…?" She choked on the word, nearly unable to force it out. Part of her doesn't want to know why he knows this information. Part of her wants to know the truth. Most of her just suddenly felt cold.

"I've continued my work there as a doctor." A small shudder passed through his body. "It's surprising what a little magic and some strips of white linen can do for someone who has lost sight of the light at the end of the tunnel." He fidgeted and dug around in his pocket. After a while, he produced a small notebook and handed it to her. "I've been keeping notes on my visits with the help of a little magic. They keep switching buildings, but I'm not sure how often, so pinpointing where they are at a given time has been rather difficult. I think they have more locations now and I'm positive they are organized better than when you were captive."

She stared in disbelief, first at him and then at the notebook in her hand. Opening it, she could see the tiniest of writings, filling page after page. An entire life could be recorded in this book. By simply waving her hand over a section, she could see it in detail as that text suddenly magnified. She looked up from the current entry. "Why…?"

"Because no one else will help them," he said matter-of-factly. He nearly fell out of the tree as he shifted his weight. "I go in and do what few people do: I do things for them without asking for anything in return. I don't accept the only things they can imagine they have left to offer." He turned his gaze into her house. "Mostly, I listen. I get letters, things written in ways I would never dream of… things I never want to even imagine, not even now. Little scraps of rust-colored cloth that some girl has torn from her bed sheets. Some of them write on the bandages. They all just want me to let the world know that they are still alive." His voice cracked at this point. "So, I deliver letters, scrambling back to the place where I've left a magical trace, and everything is gone. I've been to basements of hospitals, run down tenant buildings. Every time, there are a number of cars there – probably used to transport other doctors – yet there's not a single trace that anything had been going on there. The time I decided to try and plant a tracer on the car, I found the car, only moments after I began searching, tucked away at the back of a parking garage." He slammed a fist against the tree. "They're just smart, too smart, for something so heinous and criminal."

Sakura only continued to watch him, a mixture of awe and shock evident on her features. "And Tomoyo?"

"I don't know where they would take her. They could have gone back to one of the old locations, but I'd know." Sakura raised an eyebrow. "I've left small things that would allow me to instantly check to see if an area is occupied, though I have some doubts as to whether it'll cut through the interference you've been putting out."

"I can't stop it!" Sakura countered.

"I'm not saying that you're doing it on purpose." His usual smile returned though it was much less exuberant or mischievous than usual. "It happens sometimes… the unexpected. I mean, you have powers Clow probably never even dreamed of now. I'd be surprised if you knew how to control them the minute you received them."

"But why…? Why is it that, even with all this power, I am still powerless to save her? To save any of my friends?" He could see tears falling down her face. She rubbed furiously at her eyes, but still, they fell.

"You aren't omnipotent," Eriol offered.

"Wouldn't it just be easier if I was?" she said with a loud noise halfway between a sniffle and a suppressed laugh. "Then we wouldn't be in this situation in the first place."

"Don't think that way. We don't need any person running around playing god. Besides, not even you could predict the future exactly as it would occur." He snorted, looked up at her – all but halting her retort – as he continued. "If I could… if Kaho could… then Tomoyo wouldn't be missing. Syaoran and Meilin would be sitting in this tree with us. And you wouldn't have ever had to drop your illusion."

"I'm sorry…" Sakura said, almost out of instinct.

"Don't be… at least, you shouldn't be sorry." He sighed and chose to lean up against the trunk instead. "It's strange," he muttered. "It's like they own property in every single nook and cranny of Japan. I've been to Tokyo on at least three occasions, Hokkaido on another."

"What about the building I was in?" She asked suddenly.

"They gutted it," Eriol growled. "Nothing left at all. It was burned down the day after they found you." He peered upwards into the foliage until he met her eyes. "I'm surprised you never heard about it. I figured To…" He averted his gaze. "someone would have told you about it."

Sakura didn't seem to catch his pause. If she did, she didn't choose to acknowledge it. "I guess she thought better than to mention it," Sakura muttered. Her sigh echoed off the house as she looked upwards. "And now they've decided to take her. They're not going to get away with it."

"You can't just charge in there..."

"And what if I do?" she countered hotly.

"Then what about the others they've taken? What about the other 'Tomoyos' and 'Sakuras' that are currently stuck in the houses?" He could feel anger creeping into his voice, despite all that he was trying to do to hold it back. "Do you think they'll just idly sit back and do nothing?" Sakura again assumed the expression of a deer trapped in headlights.

"I…"

"You didn't think!" Eriol said, cutting her off. "You can't just rush in and expect everything to be alright in this case."

She sniffled and a choked-sob escaped her lips. "You can't expect me to sit here and do nothing!"

"I wouldn't expect that from you, nor would I want you to feel useless in this situation. Right now, you need to be there when Syaoran wakes up. You need to be able to reassure Meilin."

"I need to help Tomoyo!" she cried out. She stood, balancing precariously on her tree branch.

"Then I'll find her," he said. "You can trust me to find her." He grabbed her by the hand. Emerald eyes widened, and it was her turn to nearly fall out of the tree. Eriol smartly dropped her hand.

"But… how?" Sakura looked into her house and briefly at her bed. Eriol followed her gaze.

"I don't know," he said softly. "But, having to place extra security on our friends will probably tax our resources even further. I cannot afford to have Ruby and Spinel guarding you. They are only two beings, even if they are magical ones."

"I can handle myself," Sakura replied shortly. "And I can handle **this** by myself. I have dozens of willing helpers. It shouldn't tax me at all." As if it would alleviate Eriol's suspicions otherwise, she pulled out six minor cards and activated them into the space surrounding them. Smartly, she set them to some silly task. Eriol could see Wood repairing some damage on their current perching, Bubble making silly little patterns beneath them. Sakura had even created a double of herself with Twin, first using Move to get the card inside her room.

Sakura looked a little worn for just a moment before a smile returned to her face. The spirits trapped within the cards dissipated. "I'm sure I'll be able to keep it up all night as long as I minimize my use of cards during the day. Windy and Shadow are most familiar with me, so I'm sure they would be perfect for guard duty. They aren't nearly as draining as Dark or Light or Time would be."

"Will you be able to sustain Yue and Cerberus?" Eriol asked.

"I've been doing fine while maintaining Illusion, Mirror, and Voice for entire weeks," she replied sharply. She looked up at him, "Don't you have something better to do than try and calm me down or give status reports? I'm not some sort of boss or overseer you have to do that with, you know."

"I feel like you should know." Eriol hopped down out of the tree, drifting slowly to the ground on a magical circle. "You're such a big part of this whole situation that you should be updated on our progress." He punched his hand, hard. "Besides, Tomoyo is your friend just as much as she is mine. You should know everything that I'm doing to get her back."

"And why can't I do the same thing?" Sakura snapped.

"Because you're already dividing your attention between so many different things right now." Eriol's tone grew somewhat exasperated. He shook the tone from his voice and put back on his air of calm. "You are in no mental state – certainly no emotional state – in order to deal with anything else," he countered. He leaned up against the tree and stared at her house. "I don't think you should be worrying about something like this. You can't because if you keep straining to keep everyone satisfied like this, you'll break. Even if the situation is just as serious as you believe, if not more so, I won't allow you to break… not while I still have the power to at least impede your efforts." She was glaring very hard at him. He swallowed the fear blocking his windpipe. "You have family and friends to worry about. I have Tomoyo to worry about."

"She's my best friend," Sakura growled, fighting keeping her voice level.

"Yes, I know that. As I already told you, you need to focus on Syaoran. And you have Meilin to worry about." He smiled a little. "That's not to say they aren't my friends, too, but at the same time I don't have the bond with them that you do."

"Why is she so important to you all of a sudden?" Sakura hopped to the ground and brushes a few leaves from her hair. She didn't look very happy at the moment, not surprising what she had gone through in the a few scant hours, but there was a determination in her eyes that he had not seen in a very long time. Her jaw was set and she kept fidgeting, her hands moving out of rhythm with her feet. The thoughts running through her mind were almost visible. He was already communicating with Ruby moon to at least try and monitor the fragile Sakura.

He closed his eyes and sighed. "I have a bond with her that I would like to keep." He watched her head towards her house before he finished his thought. "Just like the one you have with Syaoran," he said under his breath.

Sakura turned around. For a moment he thought she had heard him. For the briefest of seconds, he thought she was going to confront him. Instead, she shook her head back and forth and fiddled with the chain around her neck. "Don't keep your guardians around to monitor me." She looked straight up at him and narrowed her eyes. "For now, I'll let you do things your way, but don't expect me to sit idly forever." She seemed to be in thought for a moment before making up her mind. "Will you be in school tomorrow?"

"I'm not running, if that's what you're implying." He breathed a gentle sigh of relief. From the way she was so tensely coiled, he expect her to fly out at any moment.

Her smile was almost serene. It made for a very fitting response. "You aren't the type to run away from things, Eriol." It was the last thing he heard as she turned on one heel and vanished into thin air.

_Post-fiction…_

Yes, the ending is one of those "what the hell?" sort of things, but it will become clear to you in due time (aka: next chapter). Now that I have a little more time to write, I hope I can release another chapter or two within the next few months. I'll probably write a one-shot type of something in the near future as an apology for not updating so much as of late.

_See you next update: Ciuline Ihmenjo_


	30. Neo: Recluse

Fallen Neo

Written by: Ciuline Ihmenjo

Card Captor Sakura does not belong to me. The characters in Card Captor Sakura do not belong to me. CLAMP owns CCS. Besides, even if you do try and sue me, I have no money.

_Pre-fiction…_

I'm going to come out and say right now, that I took a few liberties with this chapter. I decided that I needed something for plot and story's sake and took a few liberties. I don't think it'll be too hard, and by no means did I alter the canon here, but if I did not write it as such, I don't think I could make this chapter work. I do hope you, as my readers, can find it in your hearts to forgive me for that little transgression.

If you have any questions for me… just add them to your review and I'll try and answer them as soon as I can.

_Italicized words_ are thoughts. **Bold words** are emphasis. CAPS WORDS are shouting.

**o****()o Recluse o()o**

Sakura watched as the swirls of magic entered the room, gathering in a slow, spiraling mist that vaguely resembled a human. She sat down on the bed with a sigh. Eriol had lingered outside her house looking up at the window to her room. He paused for a moment before giving a shake of his head and setting off down the street.

The mist had stopped swirling by now, finally settling on its real form. The figure before her only shook its head. Sakura watched the girl, a mirror of herself, settle on the bed.

"You should have gone out there yourself," the figure said to the Sakura sitting beside her.

"Yes, but I can't really face them." Sakura replaced the card in her deck and placed the neat stack in her drawer. It was looking very thin, but she had cards doing tasks all over town.

"You have to do it sometime," the other figure said, flickering for a moment. "You can't avoid them forever." The illusion finally broke as the image of Sakura dissipated in waves. The gentle spirit smiled as the image finally dissolved. She gave a slight smile. "If you don't mind, I'm going to take a rest. It can be very tiring being you for so long."

Sakura shook her head. "I don't mind. I need to get to sleep, anyway."

"But you won't," the card said softly. "Even we need some time to recover. You should take Eriol's words to heart."

Sakura waved at the card dismissively with her hand. "I'll be fine, don't worry about it."

This was a difficult time. She could hear the buzzing reports as card after card voiced their failure to find anything about her friend. It had been a scant few hours, so she hadn't expected Tomoyo to get very far from Tomoeda proper. Still, she was having trouble locating any sign of her friend and the men who declared an attack on her world.

It was frustrating. Period. Water and Earth could search without being seen, so could Dash and many of her other cards. She needed the best of her defenders protecting her friends. Those cards she was most familiar with would place the smallest burden on her. Windy and Shadow would be her best allies in the night, but she could not spare them. Instead, she had to make do. She didn't dare use Time or Return at this time. Even she had limits. Even she reached her limits at some point.

Somehow, in her fragile state, she had broken through some barrier. It was as if a wall was there, preventing her from reaching into her inner stores of power. And when that dam crumbled, she was not at all prepared for the torrent that assailed her mind. Even now, with months of growing accustomed to this strange power, she felt as if she had barely begun to tame it.

It's strange how tragedy and hardship can so easily shape the mind into something it is not quite ready to be. Perhaps if she knew more about this power, she would be better able to utilize it?

Sakura stood up and looked out her window. Eriol was gone. With him, it seemed as if he had stripped the lingering calm that seemed to fallow him everywhere. Even in his half-panicked, sleep-deprived state, he did not let that guise fall. She wished that she were only that strong.

None of the ghosts that haunted her would be standing out there, but here she was, checking all the same. Part of her wanted to chase after him, to see if he would stay, but she didn't want to burden him like that. The way that Eriol was, he would stay. She would feel guilty all the same. Even the thought of him there, though, shook her to her core. She didn't want to fear him, to fear any of her friends, but it still was there: that deep, lingering terror that suddenly, they would attack her.

Something tapped against her window. Sakura looked up from her inner musings. Kero was fluttering outside her window, a half-emptied sack hanging from his mouth. Sakura went white and dashed for her window. Almost breaking through the glass as she collided with her wall, she somehow managed to fumble the clasp open.

"Nuu shed ood…" Sakura snatched the bag from his mouth.

"Is Rika okay?" she blurted. "I thought I told you to stay there and watch her!"

Kero settled down on the windowsill. "Nakuru said Eriol had sent her to watch Rika 'cause you have the hospital more than secure. She robbed me of half my cookies and said I need to make sure you get some sleep." Sakura let a small smile tug at the corner of her mouth at her guardian's crestfallen expression. "And she was supposed to pass on the message that Eriol wants to talk to you tomorrow at school."

"I talked to him tonight. He already told me that."

"He says you didn't talk to him tonight and wants to let you know that you should rest your cards more."

"He…" Sakura fumed for a moment. "I can't believe him!"

"You need to face the facts," Kero said, crossing her small arms over his chest. "You can't just hide away and expect yourself to be able to head this massive search effort. I'm sure he's already given you this entire talk, so I'm not going to repeat everything." He had begun pacing, now, his tail flickering back and forth. "The cards are exhausted, but not nearly so much as you are. You haven't slept in at least two days. You were up so long worrying about that trip to the mall and now you have this issue on your plate."

"I need to take care of this!" Sakura countered. "I can't give up on Tomoyo! I can't just sit back and do nothing." She was pacing with him, clenching and unclenching the entire time. "They can't just take her and expect me to do nothing."

Kero let her exhaust herself. "They do expect you to do nothing." Sakura turned on him, and for a moment, he expected that she would actually attack him. "Let me explain," he said, putting up two arms before himself in defense. "To them, you are nothing more than a runaway. They can't possibly know what can of worms they've opened up here. I think, though, that we have to assume that and play this little game of theirs."

"And just let them calmly do whatever they please to Tomoyo?"

Kero looked sad for a moment. "I've already thought about that, and I hate to say this." He looked straight at her, as serious as he could ever be. "They will do horrible things to her," he said softly. "If I'm assuming correctly, and I pray that I'm not, they took her out of revenge and to set an example. They don't care about her, just so long as they have something that will remind every other girl what happens with someone escapes."

"Then I have to find her!" Sakura shouted. "They can't… they… they can't do that to her! I won't let them!" She scrambled over to her desk and jerked the book from his usual resting place. She fumbled with the clasp and upended its contents on her bed. The staff was out in her hands in an instant.

"Sakura!" Kero's voice boomed from where he stood. She stopped and looked at him. "You can't do anything. I don't want to say it. I hate to admit it, but you can't do anything to help her tonight."

"Yes," Sakura hissed, "I can."

"Can you even find her? Do you know where they will take her? Did you put some sort of tracking device on her?"

"No, but I could use Time! I could go back—"

Kero held up a hand. "In your state, I don't think that's possible. You can't fix the past because it's already happened." He closed his eyes. "They beat us, plain and simple. Now, we need to protect our friends, make sure the friends we have continue to be with us. We've done all that we can for Tomoyo," he said softly. "I'm sorry, Sakura."

"I can do more…" she whimpered, slowly sinking to the floor. "If I use all my power, I can do more…"

"If you exhaust all your energy, you may die. You might even disappear completely. The cards would have no master. Myself, even Yue would fade away, and along with him, Yukito, if there is no one to support us. We would all just return to our dormant state. And then where does that leave Tomoyo?"

"Don't lecture me on how to help my friends," she growled. "You don't know anything."

Kero ignored her outburst and flew over to her bed. "You can't exhaust yourself or the cards. Every one of them cares about you. Every one is willing to push themselves past their limit if you ask them to, but right now, I can't let you do that." The familiar magic circle appeared beneath him as a cocoon of glowing wings appeared in his stead. Moments later, his true form stood there, blocking her from gaining access to the bed.

"Move!" she cried out, lunging towards him. As gentle as he could, he held up one massive paw and planted it in the middle of her chest. Sakura's eyes widened for a moment as she sailed backwards.

He shook his head and closed his eyes. "I'm sorry, as your guardian and most importantly, guardian of the cards, I cannot do that. There are few duties and measures that Clow put into place to prevent even himself from abusing the cards. Those duties cannot be rewritten and cannot be overruled, even by his orders. And they extend to the every master of the cards after him."

Sakura had worked herself gingerly to a sitting position. "KERO!" she screamed. The staffed flashed to a sword in an instant and then fell from her hands, now in its form as a key.

Kero looked at her, a grim expression on his face. "Windy and Shield and still protecting the hospital, but I think Shadow would do well to replace Windy. She's growing tired from all the energy she must expend. Shadows can lie dormant and still while the wind is ever-active. It would be a very smart action on your part."

"Kero!" she pleaded. "Please, they're going to… they're… going… to…" Sakura fumbled for the key and grasped it in her hands. She was chanting the incantation over and over again. Her voice was strained and her expression tense.

Kero walked over to her. "Sakura, you have to put trust into your friends. Eriol will help you as much as he can. Syaoran and Meilin will join the search when they get better. We'll find Tomoyo, and we'll make them pay."

Sakura looked up at him, tears flowing freely down her face. Her mouth was set in a stern grimace. "You know what they did to me. You know why I can't let any of that happen to Tomoyo. You know!" She lunged towards him and pounded her fists against his chest. "Give them back to me… I can find her and make sure she doesn't have to go through any of that."

"I can't do that," Kero replied, shortly. "You need to rest."

Sakura seemed to ponder this for a moment. Kero could see her thought process whirring. He could see every calculation and plan going through her mind. Some of what he could see scared him. This certainly was not the same Sakura who had once puzzled for days on how to stop water. This was not the same Sakura who had bumbled through trying to determine the best ways to confess her feelings to a certain brown-haired boy.

"STOP!" she shouted, finally. Surprised, Kero wavered. The staff appeared in her hands for a brief moment as master and guardian fought for control. Kero stared her down.

The door was flung open in the background, crashing into the wall. Touya, armed with a baseball bat, stood in the doorway. It was the perfect distraction. Sakura, stunned, stared at her brother as he planted both feet and brandished the bat like a samurai sword. Sakura shook her head and tried to reestablish dominance over Kero.

"Is she okay?" he asked, his expression was about as startled as he could possibly be. Certainly, the scene before him would demand anything but. A large, winged lion was standing over the prone form of his sister while she stared up at it, defiance plastered across her features.

"I'm not sure," Kero said, turning to him. "She's angry, at me, at a lot of things."

"What happened," Touya said finally lowered his weapon. He entered the room slowly while Sakura halfheartedly scooted away from him. Both Guardian and brother watched as Sakura thudded against her desk.

"Tomoyo was taken. Syaoran has been shot. Meilin is in the hospital." Kero managed to deadpan

Touya's expression didn't change. "Yuki came back for a moment before setting out to watch over one of Sakura's friends. He told me what happened." Touya looked away and banged a fist against the wall. His teeth were gritted when he looked back toward the lion-esque guardian. "What did they do to my sister?"

"She's trying to magic herself a solution, and overextended herself… a lot. For once, I think that she's done something to herself." Kero looked toward where Sakura was pressed against her desk. The Mistress of the Clow had curled into a seated ball and wrapper her arms around her legs. She was currently rocking back and forth, muttering something very incoherent. The key lay dormant in the middle of the room. The other two occupants took a quick look towards it and then back at each other.

Touya nodded. "Is there anything I can do?"

Kero shook his head. "This is out of our hands. The only thing we can really do now is wait for her to calm down and figure this out herself." The guardian's expression brightened a little. "If you could, though, I need to watch her for the night. This form... it does put a significant drain on me, especially when Sakura isn't expending as much energy on myself. I think she's a little iritated at me, actually."

"And?" Touya raised an eyebrow.

"I could use some snacks?" the guardian tried cheerfully. A small but quickly suppressed giggle sounded from the small ball against Sakura's desk. Kero's smile turned from one of fake cheerfulness to genuine amusement. Sakura, though she returned quickly to her dark mood, seemed to relax just a little.

Touya gave a small nod of agreement. "I'll see what I can do about things, though I'm not making any guarantees."

Kero nodded, pulling a blanket from Sakura's bed and gently placing it over the girl as Touya exited the room.

"I hope your dreams, at least, give you a moment of freedom. Tomorrow will be a new day, and with it, the dawn of hope and light." Kero curled up on the floor at the foot of Sakura's bed, keeping an ever-vigilant eye on the girl that now seemed so small. "Remember, night always comes to an end."

_Post-fiction…_

I hope this will clear up a few things. I plan for the next couple of chapters – probably three, though – to close out this arc of Fallen. This is the "Sakura" arc of the story. The next arc will still focus on Sakura, but will be more centric on what is happening with Tomoyo and those trying to rescue her.

I promise not to leave Syaoran in a catatonic state. I promise not to leave Meilin in that same state. I also promise that I **WILL **finish this story, even if it kills me. I'll try and post more often, but sometimes, I just can't find the mood to write. This time, I just kinda sat down and hammered out this chapter, but sometimes, I can barely even get a word out.

_See you next update: Ciuline Ihmenjo_


	31. Neo: Dawn

Every step he took felt as if his legs were made of lead and filled with mercury

Neo Fallen

Written by: Ciuline Ihmenjo

Cardcaptor Sakura does not belong to me. The characters in Cardcaptor Sakura do not belong to me. CLAMP owns CCS. Besides, even if you do try and sue me, I have no money.

_Pre-fiction..._

Again, I apologize for the lack of updates. It seems I'm losing readers, at least reviewing ones, due to the time between updates! Yikes, that'll teach me to promise regular updates and try to juggle schoolwork with research and free writing. Go procrastination, you'll see me off the cliff and into the depths of hell week.

Good luck to the rest of you.

_Italicized words_ are thoughts. **Bold words** are emphasis. CAPS WORDS are shouting

**o()o Dawn o()o**

Every step he took felt as if his legs were encased in lead and filled with mercury. His chest was unnaturally tight, and every breath felt like fire in his lungs. It had been a task to even drag his body to school this morning. Despite the combined efforts of a large percentage of his body that refused to listen to commands from his brain and a highly – and unusually – well-coordinated effort on the part of Spinel and Ruby, the young mage had actually made it to school. He was surprised that he was even standing before these doors at this time. Ruby and Spinel had done just about everything in their power to prevent their master from arriving at school. His clothes were strewn everywhere. They had unplugged his alarm. All of the clocks in the house had been set hours behind. Somehow – and he didn't even want to begin to think of how they managed to do so – the two guardians had even removed his entire doorway. It wasn't a matter of barricading his door. No, the entire entrance and exit to his room had been spirited away. Spinel had even voluntarily sucked down a large tablespoon full of sugar. Still, somehow, amidst the chaos, he had found an unsoiled uniform, gathered the necessities, and set off for school.

Now, he pondered the obstacle before him. It was a matter of willpower. His brain was telling him that it wasn't too late to turn back now. He could hear the thought, a mantra in his head, as he braced a palm against the cool metal surface of the door. Eriol sighed. He had to move forward, but something was preventing him from doing so. Maybe his blood was freezing in his arteries. Maybe he really did have lead feet. He sucked in a deep breath. Bracing himself, his hand wrapped around one of the handles and pulled.

The door opened before him and all conversation ground to a halt. Every pair of eyes in the hallway was glued to his face. Part of him wanted to chide them for staring at him in such an obvious manner. Still, he faltered, one hand still on the door. He could almost feel time stop around him. He nearly stopped himself. He could see people pausing to look up at him, conversations broken off and forgotten at the appearance of this significantly more fascinating subject. The door slammed shut behind him, breaking the momentary spell.

"One foot in front of the other," he muttered to himself, "you've been doing this your entire life." Walking was even more of a chore now. His legs seemed to join his feet in the leaden composition. It was as if his joints had frozen solid, stiffening to the point that movement was painful. Every step forward was like running the last leg of a marathon.

People dissolved into muffled whispers as he passed. He could hear the tiniest bits of information drifting through the hallways. They wondered what he was doing last night. They wondered what had really happened to Syaoran and Meilin. He could hear snippets of wild speculations and crazy theories, none of which came even remotely close to the truth. Still, seconds seemed to last minutes and those minutes tried to stretch into hours. So, by the time he actually made his way down the hallway, it seemed as if he had been trapped in school for days rather than a short walk from the front door and up a few flights of stairs. He wished he was able to divert more of his concentration to other tasks. It took enough of his mental capacity just to keep his legs moving. He was able to finally tune out all this gossiping only moments – though even that seemed like an eternity – before he reached the door to his classroom. Something told him a very similar atmosphere would greet him there. He sighed, briefly wondering about the ramifications of sighing too often in a short period of time, before opening the door.

Again, complete silence greeted him as conversations halted in mid-sentence. Everyone was watching him. He nearly stepped back into the hall and shut the door before him. It was eerie, this small room with so many eyes on him. Girls huddled back in their little circles, a flurry of denials and confirmations suddenly zipping between them. Boys only watched him, some with halfway irritated expressions and others with confusion or alarm written on their faces. Eriol scanned the room quickly. At least the familiar faces weren't huddled in gossip groups. Dropping his bag on the desk, he flopped into his chair and shook the last vestiges of sleep from his brain. He merely turned to one side and watched the early morning clouds drift lazily past.

Yamazaki approached him first. "Are you okay?" The usual jovial expression was gone. The silly jokes and fabricated stories didn't accompany him this time. "I've only heard rumors, crazy things, really."

Eriol looked towards the direction of the speaker. "I'm fine, though I'm not sure if I can say the same for everyone else."

"What happened?" Yamazaki asked. He leaned back against the desk behind him. "I just heard some crazy things about last night. There's this story about five people rushed to the emergency room. Some crazy rumor is going around about a stabbing and a shooting. I even heard they arrested a suspect."

"Syaoran's been…" he fought to find the best way to explain the situation, "injured. Meilin is in a similar situation."

"They'll be okay, right?"

"I'm not sure." Eriol could only shrug. "I really wish I knew."

"What about Kinomoto? Daidouji?" Yamazaki looked at him, distress creeping into his voice. "What happened to them?"

Eriol fought to swallow the lump that just clogged his throat. His first few words only emerged as a helpless squeak. He shook his head, coughing in an attempt to free his voice. The helpless feeling returned and the weight of his body seemed to double. "Sakura is okay," he managed finally. "As for Daidouji… she…" he looked around the room, and suddenly, people busied themselves with their conversations. "We don't know what happened to her." He shook his head as Yamazaki gave him a questioning look. "No, that's not entirely correct. We know what happened to her, but we don't know what's will come of it. That may be the best explanation."

Eriol watched as Chiharu made her own appearance, slowly sneaking along the back of the room from the entrance. All attention was on the two males engaged in conversation at the back corner of the room, so her entrance didn't even register in classroom conversation. Eriol watched as she sat down at her place a few seats away.

"Is it true, then?" she asked softly, approaching them a few moments later. "The entire school is practically buzzing." She hopped onto the desk beside him and pulled her bag from behind her. She leaned in closer and lowered her voice. "Did you have anything to do with what happened last night?" Eriol gave her a curt nod and resumed his conversation with Yamazaki. Chiharu looked stricken for a moment before busying herself with something in her school bag.

"What do you plan to do?" Yamazaki asked. Chiharu echoed his statement, pulling her cell phone from her bag. She turned it over and simply removed the battery before shoving it back with an annoyed look on her face.

"Will you start the investigation again?" Chiharu asked. "We… everyone will be more than willing to help. I kept all the files from last time." She produced a stack of manila envelopes from her bag and placed the stack on the desk. At the raised eyebrows from both males before her, she simply shrugged. "I had a feeling, that's all."

Eriol shook his head. "I don't think that's necessary. We've involved all of you so much already."

Yamazaki and Chiharu exchanged slightly irritated glances. "We're your friends," he replied. "I'd feel insulted if you didn't at least include us."

"And I'm sure we can gather more information and figure out what they're doing. Maybe we can even get motives this time. It's not like they were using subterfuge with last night's incident." Chiharu placed a newspaper on the desk and pointed at the headline. In plain sight, the words **Local Shooting Claims Two Victims** could clearly be discerned. "They made the front page."

Eriol snatched the paper from her and hastily scanned the article. "Did they release any names?"

Chiharu shook her head and looked to her boyfriend. Yamazaki thought about it for a moment and shook his head as well. "I've checked the other newspapers," he said, "I think Li's family is keeping the incident as low key as possible. Besides, they don't even mention anything besides a mysterious assailant."

Eriol folded the paper and placed it on his desk. He crossed his fingers together and placed his forehead against them. "What about the other bodies?"

"Others?" Yamazaki looked surprised. "Only Li and his cousin are mentioned in here."

"They they've covered their tracks as usual." Eriol ran his hands back through his hair and gritted his teeth. "It's just the same dead end."

"Yes, but it's not like we're stuck without anything to go on like last time." Chiharu picked up the envelope with the latest set of dates printed on its front from the stack before her and emptied its contents onto the desk. A torrent of newspaper clippings and hastily scribble noted poured onto the desk. She quickly placed them in a neat stack. The topmost article was a small clipping about a local girl who had been found in a dumpster not so long ago. She fingered the small strip of paper, a slightly sad look crossing her face. "It was how we were able to locate Sakura last time." Her expression brightened. "Maybe you can spy on them again!"

"They… changed things. I'm not even sure if I'll be able to get in as a doctor any more."

"Then wait for them to call you," a soft voice said from behind them. Three heads immediately snapped around to the direction of the voice. Sakura looked up at them from where she was seated at her desk. "Eriol," she said softly, "I need to talk… privately."

Eriol nodded in response. He looked back towards his previous companions. "Chiharu. Yamazaki. Could we discuss this later?"

"As long as your promise that you won't go and leave us in the dark," Yamazaki said. Chiharu nodded her assent and swept the pile of clippings back into their folder.

"I promise," Eriol said, raising his right hand. "Scout's honor."

Yamazaki smiled and steered Chiharu back to their desks. "Did you know that scouting in America began as…" A loud groan followed his cheerful voice.

"At lunch?" Sakura asked. The teacher walked into the room and placed his briefcase on the desk. The class representative stood and began the usual routine. "After school would work just as well," Sakura said softly.

"Lunch will do," Eriol nodded and took his desk.

"Then I'll see you on the roof top," she said. "Can you make sure we aren't bothered?"

"I'll do my best, even though you're probably much better at this sort of thing that I am these days." Sakura didn't respond. Eriol glanced over at the three empty desks that should be quite full at this time of day. His gaze followed until he was looking over his shoulder to glance behind him. This was definitely the real Sakura. He couldn't sense the usual pulses of energy that were emitted by her doubles.

_When did she come in? _he asked himself_. I never even felt her presence. I never even saw her._ He looked back again at Sakura who was staring out the window. Her school bag lay forgotten, still clasped shut on her desk. She never even made any effort to prepare for the day. Even in this light, she looked somber. As the lesson began, she never stopped watching the clouds pass by. Eriol stole a quick glance behind him when he had a moment, but her expression never changed.

O o o o o O

"Eriol?" She nudged the door closed behind her as she stepped onto the roof top. She shielded her eyes from the sun and looked around. Usually, she could rely on this place for solitude… to just get away from it all. Today, though, was a different matter. A lone figure was leaning against the fence.

"I've made sure we'll have some privacy for the time being. Now what did you need to talk about?" Eriol gently pushed away from the fence and walked towards her.

"I… I don't know where to being," Sakura said. She stopped halfway between them and began fidgeting, playing her hands over each other. Her fingers were fighting an imaginary war while her brain spun its wheels in the mud.

"Usually, I think it's best to begin from the beginning." He flashed a charming smile at her. "Why don't we sit down and eat lunch? I prefer the shade, though." He motioned to a darker patch on one side of the entrance to the roof.

"This isn't funny!" she snapped. Her eyes blazed as she stalked past him and slumped against the side of the entrance. "Does it even look like I'm trying to joke here?"

"So, again," Eriol ignored her outburst, "what do you need to talk about?" He took a seat near her, but not close enough that she would be affected by his presence. Producing a small cloth-wrapped package from his pocket, he unwrapped a pair of pastries and bit into the first one.

She looked at him and then at the ground and then everywhere else. "It's about Tomoyo," she said softly. "I messed things up. I mean, I really messed things up."

"You didn't do anything wrong," he replied between bites. "Haven't I already been through this with you?" He reached out and ruffled her hair. She cringed when his hand first made contact with her, but her shoulders relaxed after a few heartbeats. "Besides, we'll find Tomoyo and make them pay."

"If only I could be so confident," she gave a little chuckle, and he looked sideways at her. Sakura looked back down at the rooftop. "I went back," she said softly, almost inaudibly.

"Back?" Eriol wasn't sure he had even heard her correctly. He was puzzled at first, but the gears began turning in his mind. He withdrew his hand, nearly snatching it away from her. "To where?" Eriol felt a chill run from his feet to the back of his neck. The little hairs there stood on end. A sudden feeling of dread settled in the pit of his stomach.

"I… I went back… I thought that I could help." Her expression changed to one of panic. It was as if she needed his approval to make everything all right. "I had to fix things."

"Sakura!" he said, rising to his knees to look at her. She looked up at him, her eyes glistening with tears. He placed both hands on her shoulders and shook her gently. "Where did you go? What did you do?"

"I tried to save her… I really did… I thought I could make everything better…" She continued to babble even as he released his grip on her shoulders. He could clearly see the marks from where his hands had been seconds before.

"Tell me what happened," he said. It was hard to keep his voice level. Something told him that he never wanted to know what happened. A little voice in his head kept telling him that this was something that he shouldn't discover. Of course, the protector, the guardian in him, had to know.

Sakura looked up at him, her eyes suddenly dry. She sniffled once. "I jumped… right after Tomoyo was taken for the first time. I went back to save her."

"But she still got taken?" Eriol examined her for a moment. The little gears in his mind ground to a halt. He felt relief flood through him. "Don't you know that you can't change the past? I mean, if it's already happened, then you can't do anything to change it." He breathed a sigh of relief. "If it's that simple, then—"

"I jumped." Sakura put her hand up, cutting him off. She smiled a little. "Did you know that Tomoyo was originally kidnapped by the Houses?"

"What do you mean, 'originally'?" That feeling of dread was back, settling further into his stomach until it felt like he had swallowed a lead weight.

"I mean, I had to save her. I couldn't let her get hurt. After I called you, you told me exactly what they did to people and I knew I could never let them have her. So, I jumped backwards and went in her place." Sakura looked up for a moment before continuing. "I never thought things would get out of hand. To me, it was a simple rescue mission. One little thing, and I could save Tomoyo. I'd do anything to protect any of you."

"You... went…" And suddenly, like a projectile launched from a cannon, the realization slammed into him. Everything fell into place all at once. The blood in his veins ran cold. The pastry in his mouth suddenly turned sour. He almost felt nauseous. "Sakura," he asked, almost pleading, "you didn't…"

"I went back one week with Time, and told myself to take her place, thinking it was the only way I could save her." Sakura looked away from him. "I erased my memories of my past self because I couldn't let anyone know what I've done. Maybe I was just trying to soothe a guilty conscience. Most likely I was attempting to justify my actions. It's just that I couldn't think of anything else. I had to protect her. I knew that I couldn't change the past, but then she was safe, so it was okay. I mean, I worked so hard for so long, and I never thought I'd be able to do it. Suddenly, like a dam bursting, something flooded into me. I unlocked something I don't think I was supposed to unlock yet. It was like a door that I knew was there suddenly opened."

Eriol tried to find words. He sputtered for a moment before his brain decided to allow speech to return to him. "When did you find out?"

"I started to remember things after I chased down Sentry." She shuddered as she spoke the name. "It was like the cards were letting me peek into something. I think it's the first time I'd used Erase since then, so it makes sense that I wouldn't have gotten the chance to remember yet."

Silence fell over the rooftop as both teenager started away from each other. "It makes sense," he said finally. "The interference wasn't magical in nature at all. It was a temporal anomaly. You just altered time, so it had to readjust itself." Eriol slumped down beside her and sighed. "I don't think Tomoyo was supposed to be taken in the first place. Maybe she was supposed to be taken. We don't know anything about what will happen because you never saw those events through. When it all comes down to it, she may be gone for days, months, years even." Parts of him were angry, but he couldn't pinpoint an actual reason. He wanted to yell at her for trying to change something out of her power. He wanted to yell at her for putting herself in such danger in the first place. Mostly, right now, a large part of him wanted to yell at her for creating this situation. He fought to contain all of those parts of himself. In order to properly deal with this new information, he had to remain calm.

"I… I never meant for this to happen."

"It has," he responded bitterly. "And now we have to figure out what to do with the situation." Eriol looked at her and met her quick glance. Sakura looked away again and almost seemed to shrink down on herself.

"I had to catch up with myself, so I had to let go of my powers for a while. Without the need to strengthen them, they would have just run rampant, so I shut them off. I talked with Kero and it was the only explanation we could come up with. He kept telling me this would happen, so I took all the precautions to make sure that it wouldn't." She stood up suddenly and faced him. "Meilin and Syaoran weren't supposed to get involved! I was supposed to be able to beat them and anyone then sent. I wasn't supposed to run away!"

"What else haven't you told me?" Eriol asked.

"That's it."

"Do you remember anything else from that week that never happened? Like how I never noticed that you turned back a week's worth of time."

"I had to," she said softly. "I had to do everything to protect her, because she would always do the same thing for me." Sakura looked at him, a distant smile on her face. "It's silly of me. I convinced myself that everything would be okay, and look where that got me." She hugged herself and stared down at the ground to her right. "All I want to do is to protect you all. Instead I got everyone hurt."

"You can't take that back." He noticed how the quickly diverted the conversation away from that topic.

"I know that!" she snapped at him. Her expression changed in an instant along with her tone. "I'm sorry, you don't deserve that. It's just… I skipped school for a week and just summoned all the cards one after another. I kept running out of energy at first. About three days into this strange regiment, I could suddenly support ten of them, twenty of them at the same time. And then I managed to support about half the deck for two days time. I figured I was ready and jumped back to the day before Tomoyo was taken and managed to sneak into my past self's dreams. I drew on some memories from dreams I kept having of Tomoyo and simply morphed them into my own premonitions. Somehow I managed to impact myself a few months before because I clearly remember the dreams starting long before that, just like most of those dreams."

"It may have been that Tomoyo was the one in danger all along and you were merely sensing her danger as her friend." His expression turned to ice in a second. "Regardless, you put yourself in danger. You put her in danger. You put all of us in danger." He stood up, with some difficulty, and closed his eyes. "We can't reflect on that now, though. All we can do is move forward."

"Chiharu and Yamazaki offered to help in the search. I think you should let them."

"Why are you asking me?" Sakura replied, somewhat taken aback. "You should be the one to head this sort of thing."

"I'm asking because they're your friends just as they are Tomoyo's friends, and I don't know how much danger they'll be in if they stick with us in this situation. They were a big help with gathering information when you were missing. I can provide them with protection if we need to, though."

"Eriol?" she asked softly.

"Yes?"

"Do you at least understand why?"

He heaved a large sigh. "I know exactly why you did it. I just wish you didn't take such a burden all by yourself."

"Eriol?" she asked again.

"Yes?"

"Thank you." Sakura stood and bowed. It was more of a slight nod of her head, but the meaning was there.

He smiled and went back to his pastry. "Don't' worry about it. It's what your friends are here to do. Just don't try to face them alone this time."

_Post fiction..._

That is all... for now. Not much to say here, really. I'm slammed with end of the year work (hooray procrastination). As for me, I'll be releasing about three updates over the next month. There should be a new update for Fallen Neo. I'll also be branching into new fandoms. Just blame my procrastination on this and the drive to finish – or at least get up to date – four different series. You'll be seeing new fandoms from me in the coming months.

_See you next update: Ciuline Ihmenjo_


	32. INTERMISSION: What dreams may come

**Neo Fallen, **_**Nach**_

_Dear Readers,_

For those of you who are noticing, there are a few major differences. First? This introduction section has undergone an overhaul. It's no longer "pre-fiction" but a letter to you, my readers. Further, the title has changed, not only for the chapters, but the actual name of the story as well.

Dawn marks the end of Neo Fallen. It ends with a total cliffhanger and without resolution. What is to become of Syaoran? What is to become of Meilin? What did I do to Tomoyo? Will Sakura ever get better?

Don't worry, I'm still writing "Fallen," though. I can't leave you all with nothing, especially when that nothing should be an ending. It's just a short intermission, the last of the "filler" gaps between what has come to pass and what is in store for everyone. Expect more minor characters (from the actual show/manga) to have slightly larger roles. Also, I plan to reveal and expand on a lot of things that randomly occurred in the "previous" series as well as the stuff I left somewhat unexplained.

The first Fallen was the beginning, what brings us to the now. Perhaps it would be better to call this next series "Neo Ascension" to show that things are rising? Instead, sticking with the title of "Fallen," I have called this _nach_, the German word for next. This is the next installment of my Fallen saga, and finally, I'll answer some of the questions people I know have been wanting to ask.

I hope you will all stay with me on this ride until the end.

**Disclaimer**: CLAMP is the genius behind Card Captor Sakura. I do not own these characters, nor do I pretend to own them. My ideas and the stories that follow are my own follies.

_Italicized_ _words_ are thoughts. **Bold** **words** are emphasis. CAPS WORDS are shouting

**o..' Intermission: what dreams may come '..o**

It replayed over and over in his mind, to the point that he had begun a little game out of it. Every time he saw these events again, he counted every little difference between this scene and the previous one. Was the park bench the exact same color? Did her words carry the same inflection each time when she turned, her eyes blazing, to yell at him? Was the timing of the events the same? How many breaths did he take until he passed out, never to open his eyes again?

Of course, death was a really horrid existence. Having to watch yourself die over and over again was beyond boring and boarded a realm of frustration that he never believed possible. And he wasn't seeing the events unfold from outside his body, but from behind his own pain-clouded vision. Every single time, he could feel the bullet shattering his rib cage. He could feel the explosion of pain within his chest and the warmth suddenly spreading around him even as his body went numb with cold.

The worst thing was her scream. Right before reality abandonded him, he could hear her screaming his name. It wasn't a shout or a cry; it was a scream that chilled him to the very core of his being. It was despair embodied in the physical world. He never wanted to hear her scream like that ever again. Of course, were he alive, he would be able to prevent that. Now, in this state of limbo, he could do little more than watch himself flying towards her in hopes of coming between her and death. One arm was outstretched to the point that he didn't even know what he was doing any longer. His body moved on pure instinct. If he did not protect her… he had to protect her. He was the only person there who could save her. The was no room for "not."

Then, there it was… just like clockwork. The explosion of agony that spread fire through his chest made itself known in an instant. There was only pain, but this time, a new sensation made its presence known. The pain was radiating outward from where his heart was beating. It was that sudden awareness, that his heart was beating, that brought the greatest realization of all crashing down upon him: he was alive. He tried opening his eyes, but found they were already wide open, replaying this stupid memory to his self over and over again. He would wake when the pain forgave him. He could awaken when he was ready. And when that time came, he would make sure she would never have to scream like that ever again.

( o o o )

Sakura looked down and the bouquet in her hands. Every week, she felt silly doing this sort of thing. It wasn't like the flowers helped - even if she only had to concentrate to summon the correct card to create them for her. It wasn't as if a bundle of red and white and pink and purple and all other imaginable shades of nature would help him to wake up. Flowers would not replace the machines that still made life possible for him. She wanted to do the things she knew she could do within her own power. Ever since she had confessed her sins to Eriol, she knew exactly how dangerous such an action could potentially be. As much as she wanted to send her cards out through the entire world, she would put too much of a drain on herself. Those waking moments that she did not devote to calculus (and even worse fate than algebra ever could be) and Japanese literature, she spent honing her abilities in an attempt to understand her limitations.

So far, she was making very slow progress.

She set the flowers on the bedside table. A smile played over her face. This scene was much similar to one that was nearly a year old. The same arrangement of half-deflated metallic balloons were scattered around the room. The same witty "get well soon" cards littered every usable surface in the room. People were loved by those around them. When they were injured, those admirers and friends rallied around a single cause. Since they could have no control over the fate of the one person lying in that bed, they instead try to create an atmosphere that is suitable for recovery. It isn't as if that atmosphere will help, but at least it makes people feel as if they are making the situation better.

The form sitting in the bedside chair stirred. Her fingers were wrapped around his, as if that gesture alone would bring him back to her. She rolled into a sitting position and opened her eyes with a start. Meilin hastily untangled her fingers from his. Stretching her arms out wide as if trying to mask the action, she hastily blinked sleep out of her eyes as Sakura took a spot on the wall.

"You should have said something," the Chinese girl said. Her tone wasn't angry. It was more upset, perhaps even frustrated. She went through another rapid series of blinks while brushing the hair out of her eyes.

"I didn't want to wake you up. Besides, you could use the rest." Sakura set her flowers in the nearest empty vase and pointed to the bed. "Has anything changed?"

Meilin looked sadly at the still figure of Syaoran. His chest rose and fell in concert with the alien motion of the pump behind him. "I keep thinking maybe he'll wake up. Some day, he'll squeeze my hand back and then everything will be okay. That Syoaran will just smile like nothing has changed." She sniffled and began rubbing at her eyes. "Just sitting her and being able to hold his hand... I feel so powerless."

Sakura allowed herself a wan smile. "I know the feeling all too well."

"Then what did you do?" Meilin looked at her. "We're still in the same situation we were in months ago. The only thing that's changed is that I don't have a kilometer of bandages wrapped around my shoulder."

Sakura laughed a little, but stopped when a pair of narrowed red eyes shot daggers at her. Meilin folded her arms over her chest and chewed her bottom lip. "It's not funny, you know. I could have died!"

"But you didn't," Sakura pointed out. "He's still alive in there, just like you're still alive. You're both survivors. It's not like this would do anything to you. Soon, Syaoran will be back on his feet and Tomoyo will be back with us. We'll all be able to put this behind us."

"If it were only that easy." Meilin looked at her and sighed. "I just wish time would hurry it up a little, neh?" Sakura looked slightly panicked for a moment before Meilin realized her slip-up. She waved her hands before her in a purely dismissive gesture. "I didn't mean it that way. I... I just… I don't know what I just." She chuckled a little, calming the rapid motion of her arms. "I guess I'm just being impatient. I just want this all to be over with so our lives reach that wonderful consistency of days past."

Sakura looked out the window and nodded. "There's not much we can do here but wait for time to move itself."

Meilin watched her for a moment before turning her gaze back to the bed. "You called him Syaoran," she said softly. "You haven't called him that since he was admitted to the hospital. He told me a little while ago that you kept calling him Li whenever he called."

"I… oh… so I did." Sakura couldn't look back at the bed. "It was… I…" she couldn't really find the words to match her feelings.

"A slip up?" Meilin suggested. Sakura flashed a brief, childish grin. Her expression changed back to her usual dour mood in a matter of second. She pushed gently off the wall and walked towards the door.

"I have some homework to catch up on," she said over her shoulder.

"You always have something to catch up on," Meilin said, folding her arms over her chest. "Would it really hurt you that much to sit here and just be in his presence?"

Sakura turned in the doorframe and brushed her hair out of her eyes. "You know where to reach me if something changes, right?"

"I'd prefer if you just stayed." Meilin glanced down at the still figure on the bed. "I think he'd prefer it if you stayed."

Sakura only shook her head. "I need to go. Please, I'll stay some other time. I'll be around some time later in the week."

"You say that every time." Meilin rolled her eyes and gave an exasperated sigh. "Just make sure you don't go off and do something foolish, okay?"

"You're sounding like Eriol," Sakura called over her shoulder before she rounded the corner.

Meilin looked down at Syaoran before looking at the door. She sighed and clasped one of his hands between her own. "Yes, if only she didn't act as restless as you did then..."

( o o o )

It had been nearly two months since Tomoyo had disappeared. There was still no trace of her to be found. Again, Eriol found himself pacing his apartment. It was almost to the point that he was wearing a furrow in the floor. Some part of him almost expected his guardians to move him to a different location. Another part of him wondered when the floor would start to get irritated and ask him to choose another location.

"You do realize that amount of pacing is probably border-line unhealthy, right?" Yamazaki peered up from behind the desktop situated near the window. Chiharu was on the floor, surrounded by newspapers and schoolbooks. Nakuru lay sprawled on her stomach, cheerfully helping the duo by clipping articles of interest from the newspapers scattered about her. She had wandered in a few hours ago and was promptly set to work so Chiharu – the poor girl – could actually get a little bit of studying in her life. Spinel, in the meantime, had retired to the small library of books that had accompanied the Eriol back to Japan. In his spare time, he formed the other part of this trio, reading through the files as well as drafting up formal letters for Eriol's secondary job. As much as his help would be appreciated, there isn't much a winged cat can do to help without attracting unwanted attention.

"I'll worry about my health when I know that everyone else is healthy and hale," he muttered. "I don't have time to worry about my health! We have to find Daidouji!"

"And pacing gets you closer to her?" Chiharu voiced without looking up from her work. "You've been at it for the last two hours. I'm afraid you'll stop walking to school and just pace there."

"You'll have to leave a few hours early so you aren't late," Yamazaki offered. He peered out from behind the monitor once more, a finger up in the air as if asking for one minute. "Hey, did you know that originally the ancient…" Chiharu shot daggers at her boyfriend who promptly clammed up. "Well, I for one though it was perfectly timed." He sort of trailed off at the end when he saw the rather thick calculus book clutched in his girlfriend's outstretched arm. Really, he had to wonder where she found the arm-strength to heft the textbook as if it were a feather.

"Eriol," Nakuru said stiffly, "maybe we should take a break." She stretched her arms over her head and rolled onto her back. It took her a moment, but she finally sat up. Her joints popped as she stood, causing the poor guardian to nearly jump out of her skin.

"I agree," added Chiharu. "We've been at this for hours. Well, you've been at this for hours." She stared down at the scribbled writing before her. "Besides, there is only so much math that a person can handle in a single day."

Yamazaki swiveled the desk chair to face the filing cabinet by the window. He scooted over and pulled out the top drawer. "Have you heard any new offers from them?"

"Nothing since that case last month," Eriol replied bitterly. "They haven't really called on me much as of late."

"It's strange," Yamazaki said after finding the file he was looking for. He placed a few printouts into the folder before placing it back into the cabinet and scooting back over to the computer. He propped his feet up on the surface of the desk and assumed a very laid-back posture. "You'd think that, for an organization where so much can go wrong with the people there, they'd need more doctors."

"Nothing back on the resume you put out?" Chiharu asked as she stood up.

"They haven't given me a call since that brunette last month." Eriol stopped pacing for a moment. "Why?"

Chiharu shook her head and scowled at the young mage. "No, I meant him." She pointed at her boyfriend.

"Not even a response." Yamazaki looked utterly frustrated. "You'd think that they'd at least warrant us a 'not interested' or perhaps even a..."

Eriol shot him a glare that could have peirced steel. Yamazaki broke off, somewhat flustered. The chair he had been leaning backwards in moments before thudded to the ground. Only quick reflexes managed to save the high-schooler from a rather intimate encounter with the floor. "I thought I told you that I didn't want you two getting involved that much."

"Relax," Yamazaki replied. The chair tilted precariously backwards once again. "We sent it from the spare e-mail that you set up and used false names and everything. If we need to, we can take the entire thing down and have our Doctor Gendou disappear without a trace."

"And what will you do if they send you a response?" Eriol stalked towards him, dark eyes narrowed in anger.

"I'll answer them?"

Eriol was at the desk in a second. His hands had wrapped themselves around Yamazaki's shirt and hefted the poor high-schooler over the top of the desk. Yamazaki stood on the tips of his toes in order to prevent himself from losing his link with the planet Earth below him. One hand was wrapped around Eriol's wrist. His other arm was currently ramrod straight and pressed against the surface of the desk to stabalize the position.

Papers, once scattered on the floor, flew upwards in Eriol's wake. Nakuru was at once a flurry of motion, her arms darting out to bring order to the chaos his motion had brought about. Chiharu stood as well, calculus book clutched menacingly in one hand. Her face was set, but concern flooded her features as her eyes darted from her boyfriend to Eriol and back again.

"Put me down," Yamazaki wheezed.

"Not until you promise that you won't involve yourselves with... with **them**." Eriol's eyes were still narrowed as his glance shot to Chiharu. "That goes equally for both of you."

"You, just as well as I, know that we can't make that promise," Chiharu said slowly. She hefted the calculus book in one arm. "Or do I have to slug you in order for you to put him down?"

"Fighting won't solve anything," Nakuru said finally, plucking the book from Chiharu's outstretched arm as easily as one would lift an ordinary sheet of paper. The pink-haired guardian walked slowly over to Eriol and disengaged her master's hands from Yamazaki's shirt. "Besides, you," she pointed to each of the room's other occupants," are supposed to be helping each other to expidiate this process of locating Miss Daidouji."

Nakuru didn't move for the longest time. The usually jovial guardian stood between the other occupants of the room as if her presence alone could stop a war. Eriol opened and shut his mouth before returning to his pacing. The only difference is that this time he had his nose buried deep in his little notebook. Every few millimeters he dug deeper into the carpet, the sounds of a page turning could be heard. Yamazaki, in the meantime, joined his girlfriend on the floor. They were scheming. Nakuru could tell that much. But, the extend of their scheming as well as the target of their schemes escaped her. She didn't care to discover a plan in its infancy. Eriol would stop them, or at least deter them from this silly notion. If not, Nakuru knew she would be called upon to protect her friends. She had grown rather attached to the people Eriol had been bringing over to the apartment. She did not want to see any of them harmed. What happened to Miss Daidouji and Sakura would not happen to anyone else that she knew.

Satisfied with the results, Nakuru began humming merrily to herself as she hopped over the stack of papers at her feet. Perhaps Soupy had come up with some freak detail that her master had overlooked or even simply neglected. If anything, Spinel had spent more time pouring over the fruits of Eriol's labor. In fact, the small cat-like creature had holed himself up in the library for days on end pouring over files. She politely excused herself and kept an ear out for any more squabbling. Walking over to the door to the second bedroom, she contemplated the kitchen for a moment before turning the knob.

Yes, perhaps Soupy would have something for the search. She didn't want him to destroy months of hard work due to a spoonful of sugar, regardless of how amusing she found it.

( o o o )

Tomoyo Daidouji now knew why Sakura would do anything to keep her best friend out of this place. She now knew why Sakura went through such lengths to distance herself from her friends. Every reason that Tomoyo knew her own friend would never say suddenly came to her.

From her observations of her best friend, Tomoyo had one distinct advantage: she knew what was coming. Every little thing that Sakura had muttered in her tossing and turnings, every time Sakura had even muttered something about her captivity, Tomoyo had stored away in her mind. The gesture had been that of a caring friend, one who wished to know how to best help her friend. All the information that she had gathered in the last year had been to help Sakura deal with her demons. Now, in this time of desperate need, it would help herself.

Of course, the experience wasn't the same. It was a different handler, this one calling himself Dagger. She hated him. He was, perhaps, the only person she had every truly hated. This feeling was very alien to the teenager. Hatred was something she never really felt. Her mind was filled with compassion and caring thoughts and unable to really store those of hatred. She was a beacon of hope and calm for a group of otherwise hectic and crazy people. She could at least provide advice as a truly unbiased mediator.

Over the last two months, Tomoyo had carefully distanced herself. She had put on a guise to protect herself. By withdrawing into her own mind, she found that she was able to actually withstand everything that happened to her. Those things that should be slowly draining her of the will to escape served only to reinforce her rebellious behavior. The actions taken in an attempt to break her spirit only ignited a passion within her breast. She was content to sit and wait and bide her time.

Some day, she knew, her friends would find her. She would be ready for that day. She would embrace that day. And then she would take her small, delicate hands and use them to beat one irate, muscul-bound, overbearing git until he was babbling nothing more than incoherence.

_Sincerely yours…_

Alas, I was just short of 400 reviews for one story. I'd wait for more, but that would be cheating you, my readers.

I hope you won't complain for more of the boring and contrite. Most of the actual action is going to be few and far between as I continue this story. Yes, there will be action and such, but it'll come in little spurts. I won't just continue to babble and throw intermission-like chapters at you, though. This chapter is the "between" chapter, though. It bridges the three-month gap that occurs between Fallen: _Neo_ and Fallen: _Nach_.

I promise I'll update Nach at least three more times before the summer is up. I just need to find more time in my life to write.

_ Ciuline Ihmenjo_


	33. Nach: Her Resolve

Fallen,

**Neo Fallen, **_**Nach**_

_Dear Readers,_

Rather than posting a new story, I have decided to continue to post Fallen, _Nach_ with Fallen, _Neo_. I have done this for the personal reason that _Nach_ is merely a continuation of the event of _Neo_. It is not a separate story, only the second half to _Neo_'s incompletion.

This first chapter is merely a step into _Nach_, and the sudden shift in writing style will not carry throughout the story. Please bear with the somewhat confusing style, as I think it best fits the situation. I apologize for the short update, but there will be longer ones to come!

I hope you will all stay with me on this ride until the end.

**Disclaimer**: CLAMP is the genius behind Card Captor Sakura. I do not own these characters, nor do I pretend to own them. My ideas and the stories that follow are my own follies.

_Italicized words _are thoughts. **Bold words** are emphasis. CAPS WORDS are shouting

**Oo. Fallen, Nach: Her Resolve .oO**

The man knows this type of girl. He knows the stubborn, silly fool who refuses to give into the fate which has befallen her. The man has seen these types before, and knows, just like every one before, he will break her.

The man sees her every day. He is her handler, the ringmaster of the idol's circus. For their amusement, she will be forced to jump through flaming hoops. To satisfy their delights, she will walk the tightrope blindfolded without the comfort of a safety net. To feed their unending hunger, she will be fed to the lions. To sate their cravings, she will be placed in the spotlight. All the while, he will stand there just on the boarder between the two worlds. Calmly, he will reach out his hand, collecting admissions from them.

Just so they can see her.

He has seen her at her best, just as he has seen her at her worst. All this while, she has persevered. It is her stubborn willpower that annoys him. The man wants to know what drives her on, so he tests her. Each day, he pushes her to her limits, forcing her to draw on her determination to move in a direction she so stubbornly refuses.

The man watches, distant and detached from the world of sin. He is the god of this world, at least the god of her world. The man is a puppet-master forcing his little toy to dance to his tune.

The girl, however, will not dance. She knows how to dance, but she refuses to move to his rhythm. He cannot afford to cut her strings, so he must pull, tolerating her resolve until even that crumbles. Some day, he will play a tune and she will kick her feet to her rhythm.

The man waits for that day with his smarmy looks and oozing greed. The man will greet the girl on the day she gives in with open arms. He will accept her then and only then. Until that day comes, he will do all that is in his power to break the girl.

For his is no sentry to watch over her. To counter her willpower, he is a breaking force.

( . o O o . )

The girl looks in the mirror and doesn't recognize the face staring back at her. The girl stares blankly at her surroundings and realizes her simple purpose. Her lot in life is that of an outlet and an avatar.

Her purpose is to serve as an outlet for them to take their troubles out on. The girl serves her purpose well. The girl has become an avatar of pleasure. The girl will be their tool, their object of desire. The girl has transcended to an almost god-like status. To them, the girl is an idol, something that should be worshipped, for the girl has something that no other avatar does. The girl occupies a position that no other person can really fill. The girl sits atop a pedestal of fame, or at least as close to fame as possible without actually occupying it. For that, the girl is something of a commodity. They will line up to see her, and even more, line up to posses the girl, if only for a while.

It is not the things they do to the girl that trouble her. It is not the things he does that weighs on her mind. It is not even the conditions of squalor that surround her. The girl knows her place, but continues to strive for an uncertain future. The girl places all her hopes and her dreams on a faintly glimmering light. Perhaps, at the end of this tunnel, the light will become a bold new day, bright and new and green and full of life. Maybe her tunnel will split into a festering darkness, consuming her and her little light until there is nothing left but the crumbled remains of shattered dreams. The girl hopes and prays that this will not come to pass.

The girl in the mirror smiles and the expression is alien. It feels unnatural and unreal. Quickly now, the girl must compose her features back into the blank slate that usually greets the world. The girl must never allow her true and fragile self to see any of the horrors that populate this world of sin. No, it would be like unleashing a torrent of unending grime on a pristine surface.

The girl will never allow that to happen. So long as the girl is able, the girl will never surrender to the world of sin.

The girl feels around her for garments long forgotten. The briefest of shivers makes its way through her body, suddenly making the cold known to her. Her faithful blanket, once a source of comfort – and oddly enough, a strange sort of friend – was taken from her weeks ago.

The girl winces as fingers graze against fresh bruises. Him. He does this to the girl, for reasons unknown. It is as if he sees through the girl's guises and subterfuge. He wishes to dig deep into the girl's psyche until that pristine innocence is dragged out and exposed to the horrors of this world.

The girl shrugs on rags as clumsy fingers fumble the silly knots. In days past, this sort of action would be an exciting venture. The girl spent many a day dreaming and creating new things. But that was another life. That was almost another girl. This girl, the disheveled one sitting here now in bare feet with trembling hands, is not the same as the girl who dreamed of fashion and the future. The one that the girl tries to protect must be content with her dreams and the people that she dreams about.

These are the people waiting for the girl. The people are not them. These people are human beings rather than the filth populating the world of sin. The people wait for the day she will be returned to them, and for that reason alone, the girl will not allow her to be harmed.

The girl stares at the mirror and desires to shatter it. The mirror does not reflect her true self, but only that of a guise. This mask the girl wears to protect something precious to the girl.

Even as they are above her and behind her, panting with their exertions, they are constantly beneath her. They will not weigh on her thoughts. They only use the girl to pursue their own ends. To fulfill their selfish desires, the girl becomes putty, to mold into the shapes the wish to see. The girl is not that malleable. Someday, the girl will be pushed into a position where the girl is unable to conform to their desires. That day, the girl will break. That is why the girl trains her mind each day to become that much more flexible.

The girl must not break. The girl must not break. It is her mantra, the thing the girl says to herself every day as they stretch her to the brink, never able to push her over the edge.

The girl must put this stupid show on for their sake and for **his** sake. **He** must never know of the thing the girl is trying to protect. **He** can never find the island in the calm of the storm. The girl must make it appear as if the hurricane has no eye and the tornado is a continuously swirling vortex. No calm must exist to the world of sin. If anyone is able to find that calm center, the storm will consume everything that is left.

In that even, she will be left without her shield.

She is an entirely different entity. She is carefree. She worries for all that are around her. Rather than pursuing her own ends, she is selfless. Even in times of need, she will help those she cares for before even considering herself. It is the way that she is. Her heart encompasses worlds. Without limitations, she cares for all.

She is innocence embodied, even though her thoughts are not nearly as pristine. Of course, she is tainted, but who isn't? She confronts the world in an effort to guide certain people to their happiness. She will sacrifice anything to ensure that one person is happy.

Is that not enough?

She waits, nestled deep in her cocoon, waiting for the day the light with obliterate the world of sin. She sleeps, unaware of the battle raging outside her sanctuary, and ignorant to the sacrifices made to preserve this little shred. She will sleep, blissfully unaware of the world of sin that the girl has bravely faced to protect that one shred of innocence.

For as long as she needs to, she will await the arrival of light into the world of sin.

Until the day her savior comes, she waits.

_Sincerely yours…_

Well, I was reading something and that's how I ended up with that strange chapter. I guess, if anything, you could claim that it was a moment of inspiration. You may have to read it a few times to understand exactly what is going on, but I assure you, I did have some sort of a plan that I followed when writing this chapter.

The next chapter focuses more on the characters outside of this part of the Houses. Tomoyo will meet up with them in due time. For now, I'll continue writing!

_Ciuline Ihmenjo_


	34. Nach: Event Horizon

**Neo Fallen, **_**Nach**_

_Dear Readers,_

Bah, it seems the review slump has started again. It's kind of bothersome. I have about three chapters in various forms of completion, but I'd been deliberating over the order in which to post said chapters (that gives you a little insight into how much of this story I actually do have planned out ). Regardless, I feel this one fits best into the current line of chapters. It's as slow as the other chapters, but again, things will begin to pick up soon.

I have a few issues to resolve that will come to light in the next chapter, but I'll shift back the attention back to Tomoyo by the fourth chapter of _Nach_. It should kick off a shift back to action over talking, but as much as people dislike the talking parts, I never meant for this to be an action-packed story. It's angst and romance, which I think aren't really genres that proclaim action, explosions, and fast-pacing.

Again, I hope you will all stay with me on this ride until the end.

**Disclaimer**: CLAMP is the genius behind Card Captor Sakura. I do not own these characters, nor do I pretend to own them. My ideas and the stories that follow are my own follies.

_Italicized words _are thoughts. **Bold words** are emphasis. CAPS WORDS are shouting

**Oo. Fallen, Nach: Event Horizon .oO**

"You don't expect me to just sit here, do you?" she shouted at him.

Eriol sighed, more from exasperation than anything else. It was identical to nearly every other conversation he'd had with her in the last few months. He would attempt to explain that he had no idea where Tomoyo was. Sakura would begin smoldering about the time when he said that the Houses had not called him in the last month. When he began telling her that he had a plan, she would explode.

"No," he said, "I can't expect you to just sit here. I can't expect you to just do nothing." He looked out the window of his little apartment and just let her rant and rave. Until she calmed down, at least a little, she was impossible to even attempt to reason with.

"I've waited for months, Eriol," Sakura said, whirling around to face him. She had been pacing, nearly in his little groove, for the last ten minutes. "I've watched you and Chiharu and Yamazaki and everyone else just pouring over papers."

"Yes, we need to in order—" He sighed as she cut him off.

"There is only so much planning that you can do!" she cried out. "At some point, you need to just throw it all out the window and act."

"What do you want me to do, storm in there with powers blazing and blow them to the ninth circle of hell?" Yes, the conversation was beginning to level out.

"I'd like that," she said. Her eyes danced. A dark gleam shone in them. "Because, if you don't do it, I will."

Eriol closed his eyes. Removing his glasses, he put a hand to his face and rubbed his eyelids. For a moment, he just tried to think. Of all the previous arguments, he had at least been able to forestall Sakura's attempts to go out and level half of Japan in her desperation to find her friend. Granted, most of him wished he could do such things. Mostly, he couldn't. His magic was far weaker in this day than it had been those many decades ago when he was the illustrious Clow Reed. Now, he was a mere teenager. Yes, he was a teenager with spectacular powers, but Sakura was a completely different question.

He knew she had somehow evolved, but at the same time, he didn't know how far her powers had evolved. He couldn't very well test her as he had done in the past. No, these days were different, far more dangerous. Long gone were the days where he could set up a simple challenge for her to overcome. In this present, especially with Sakura the way she was now, any challenge that asked the limits of her powers could end in a complete disaster. She may even inadvertently level half of Japan in her efforts.

"Eriol?" she asked, "are you even listening?"

He looked up and smiled, one of the charming ones he usually reserved for flirting. "Sadly, no, but I can understand the gist of what you were saying." He replaced his glasses and took a seat at the desk. Rolling the chair back, he opened the middle drawer of the filing cabinet and removed a very thick binder. "This, Sakura, is a list of every girl between the ages of ten and eighteen who has gone missing in the last ten years. In this filing cabinet, we've collected data on all the cases of girls who have gone missing. We attempted to find patterns, something… anything that could even lead us to Daidouji."

"And?" Her expression was anything but accepting of this lack of action.

"We've figured out – what Mihara has called 'capture zones' – areas where they take a majority of their girls from."

"And how do you even know that these girls have been taken?"

"Because I've seen them," he said grimly. "The ones listed in this file are ones who I know are either currently in the Houses possession or were at one point enlisted in the Houses. Some of them have been freed. Others attempted to escape, but were not at lucky as you were." He looked at the binder and then to Sakura. "You set a precedent. No other girl has ever escaped from the Houses. Their capture of Daidouji was no mere act of simply claiming a new girl. No, they specifically targeted her to send you a message."

"Well, I got it and now I want to take it and jam it down their throats." She augmented her words by slamming a clenched fist into her open hand.

"You can't do that, though," Eriol said softly.

"And why not?" She stalked over to where he was seated and towered over him. Her hands were still balled into fists and set angrily on her hips.

"Do you not remember what happened to Daidouji?" Eriol pointed to the file and then to her. "You, remember, are the first girl who has ever actually escaped the Houses."

"What about those other girls? The ones you said were freed?"

Eriol glanced back at the file. "There has been only a handful of cases where a girl with very influential parents has somehow managed to purchase their daughter backs. Out of the four cases Mihara and Takashi have found, only one of those girls is even in any sort of condition that hasn't left her in psychiatric care."

Sakura blanched. Her entire face drained of color in an instant. "And what about that fourth girl?"

"She committed suicide," Eriol said matter-of-factly. "I don't want anything like that happen to Daidouji." He pointed to one of four highlighted names. "I treated one of these girls. She was shy, meek… something that the Houses seems to look for. She talked with me for ages about guys she liked and things she planned to do when she got out."

"And?" A look of impatience flashed on Sakura's face. "What does this have to do with Tomoyo?"

"She was perfectly normal, Sakura," Eriol said softly. "There was nothing wrong with her. She ate, drank, and talked just like there was nothing wrong with her. Even after I saw her a second time – months later – nothing had changed. From what I could sense, she was even fine on the inside… mentally stable. Despite her situation, she had managed to somehow deal with it. The problem is, once she left the Houses, why was she so suddenly unable to deal with the social pressure?" He stood and shut the binder, replacing it in its spot in the filing cabinet. "I don't believe that is the case. I think they make sure that people know that you can't free yourself from them. They did something to those girls, and I have to make sure they aren't able to do that to Daidouji."

"Then rescue her!" Sakura cried out. She threw her arms in the air and turned for the door. "I can't even believe I'm sitting her doing nothing."

"You're finding out why you can't just go blasting through Japan in your attempts to find her." Eriol closed his eyes. "As much as a hate this waiting game, it's all we can do. We can't let them know we've been investigating them or else they may look into all the searching I had done, trace it back here, and target other people you care about." He met her frustrated gaze. "What would you do if they tried to take Sasaki or Yanagisawa?"

Sakura met his gaze and held it. "I would kill them."

It was Eriol who broke the connection first. "The least I can give you is the zones that Mihara mapped out. There's quite a few of them, and they seem to be scattered randomly around Japan." Sakura opened her mouth to ask a question. Eriol held up a hand to forestall her. "I've already checked out places that give easy access to any of these zones, but there's no sign of the Houses at any of these areas. I've had Spinel and Ruby flying sweeps around the country for a few hours each day to see what they can find. Sadly, our leads have resulted without anything concrete. It's just a bunch of dead ends." He flashed a slight smile, "That, perhaps, is the most frustrating thing I've had to deal with. I know that she's out there. I've managed to infiltrate their inner workings and even managed to gather all this information on them. With all of those resources available to me, I've still yet to find Daidouji."

"Then is there something that you **can **do?" Sakura settled onto the corner of the desk. Her breathing had resumed its normal rate, and her eyes no longer threatened to burn him to cinders where he stood. She was merely smoldering now, but this time as a fire that was dying rather than one just beginning.

"I could use the help to patrol areas. So far, Ruby and Spinel have managed to ward off three separate attempts by agents of the Houses to capture new victims."

"Didn't you say I couldn't do that?" Sakura narrowed her eyes at him. Eriol swallowed nervously.

"You can't go and rescue Daidouji. You can't interfere with the inner workings of the Houses." Eriol gave her a charming smile. "I never said anything about interfering with captures."

Sakura echoed his own grin. "And how much force can I use to persuade them that this line of work is not the best option of employment."

Eriol chuckled. "Sadly, you'll have to be stealthy on this issue, but I'm not to be held accountable for any scrapes and bruises that they might accumulate." His expression turned deathly serious. "If you do attempt this, you must ensure that they do not catch on to your interference. They can't know who you are or what you are doing."

Her hand on the doorknob, she turned back towards him as she opened the door. Sakura's smile was acidic, at best. "Eriol, you forget, I'm one of the most powerful magic users on the planet. How would they even think that I'm the one making them dance like puppets on a string?"

_Sincerely yours…_

Complications? Perhaps.

I've been having a bit of trouble figuring out where I need to end a chapter, so it getting a bit confusing. Originally, this was supposed to be a chapter about Meilin and Sakura, but that got scrapped when I realized that it just didn't have the right direction. It seems to be a problem I've been having a lot with that exact chapter, now that I think about it. One of these days, I'll resolve that issue.

I have two half-written chapters that I need to finish, so I **MIGHT** be able to update a little faster this time. Please shower me with reviews; it may help motivate me more! _(end shameless plug/request)_.

_Ciuline Ihmenjo_


	35. Nach: Afternoon World

Fallen,

**Neo Fallen, **_**Nach**_

_Dear Readers,_

Just to let you folks know, the Meilin rape thing from chapter… um… erm… well, it was a long time ago. Regardless, I kept attempting to resolve that issue, but I never really found a point in the story where I could actually do so. I had planned to do a chapter towards the end of Fallen Neo, but again, the story didn't feel like it was the right time for it. I plan to expand on many of the unanswered questions I left in Neo in the coming chapters, though.

Really, I think Meilin would be in that sort of situation, though. She is usually portrayed as a black sheep in the family. As much as she is one of my favorite characters (overall, not just out of the CCS cast), I don't think that she's really top priority to the clan. I guess I'll have to explain my take on it, neh?

Anyhow, I'll be switching characters for the next few chapters until I come full circle and get back to the Houses.

I would just like to know, however, what it is that people enjoy so much about chapter 20 and chapter 23. I have about one to two hundred more hits on those chapters than any other chapter beyond my first four (which, I think, is the point that all but a good 800 people stop reading). Don't worry, though! I plan on finishing this out. It's my little epic. It's just nice, however, when people decide to give me a hello and such.

I hope you will all stay with me on this ride until the end.

**Disclaimer**: CLAMP is the genius behind Card Captor Sakura. I do not own these characters, nor do I pretend to own them. My ideas and the stories that follow are my own follies.

_Italicized words _are thoughts. **Bold words** are emphasis. CAPS WORDS are shouting

**Oo. Fallen, Nach: Afternoon World .oO**

It was a small affair: an unusual conversation location but the usual conversation items. Two cups of tea had already set on the table before her. One was gently clasped between the hands of a very red – clothing-wise – Chinese girl. The other sat there, lonely and distant, with wisps of steam curling into the room. The small china cup seemed like the perfect metaphor for the other occupant of the room. The conversation was not, however taking place at some sort of fancy restaurant. No, this was a somewhat familiar location, a small apartment that Syaoran and Meilin shared during their visits to the East.

Sakura was almost certain the Li-clan owned a portion of this complex, but she never actually voiced that line of thinking. Now, however, she was standing here under entirely different circumstances. She suspected there would be not happy and cheerful hugs followed by awkward conversation. Although, she was quite certain the latter would be present in force.

"You wanted to meet with me?" Sakura asked as she closed the door behind her.

"Yes," Meilin motioned for her to sit down. "I… there were things that needed to be said."

"That you cannot say in front of a person in a coma?" Sakura said, taking the proffered seat.

"Things that I'd prefer Syaoran did not hear were he to suddenly wake up," she said softly, "so, please just understand." Sakura nodded, so the Chinese girl continued. "I don't have to ask you what it's like or how you felt because I'm pretty sure I can get somewhat of a grasp on your feelings."

Sakura stood, her chair scraping backwards across the floor. "You think you can—"

Meilin glared at her. "You will sit down," she said icily. Her red eyes never left the furious girl before her. They were neither angry nor frustrated nor was it hurt. Her gaze was as frigid as the coldest day and promised something that no person would want to discover. "You will sit there, and you will listen and you won't interrupt me." She raised a clenched fist and slammed it down on the table. Sakura dropped back into her seat. "Why? Because this is for your own good, just as much as it is for mine."

Sakura sat motionless, her mouth opening and closing as she fought to say something, anything, that wouldn't make her feel suddenly inadequate. "I'm sorry," she said, finally.

Meilin's expression lightened a bit. At least, her eyes were no longer threatening to declare a solo blitzkrieg on her friend. "As I was saying, I don't suspect I know what you went through. I don't even want to attempt to relive anything that had happened to you. I'm sure you dream of it, think of it. I'm sure you spend every day wondering what you could have done differently.

"I know I did. Could I have fought him off better? Could I have prevented this from ever occurring?"

She paused to take a sip from her tea. "You should drink that," she said, pointing in the direction of the other cup, "before it gets cold. This tea is something that is better when hot; at least, that's what Syaoran always said. Strange, though, I've always preferred it cold."

Sakura stared at the cup before taking it gently in her hands. "Is it something special?"

"He'd give it to me on those cold, lonely days. Maybe that's why I prefer it in a cooler state." Her eyes disappeared into the past for a moment before she snapped back into the present. "Too many memories of the past lie in warm tea. Who would have thought?"

"You called me here for a reason," Sakura said. "And I know that reason was not to talk all afternoon about tea."

"No, it's not." Meilin sighed. "Though, I would prefer if we could just sit and talk about tea. Sadly, there's too much else to be said here." She cleared her throat, setting the cup down. "Do you know what it's like not to be loved?"

Her eyes were intense and Sakura stumbled for an answer. "I… I've seen a world like that, once."

"It's not the same thing," Meilin said softly. "I mean, have you ever been looked down upon solely for something out of your control?"

"If you're saying that people look down on me because I've been raped, then I suggest you just stop talking." Sakura had knocked her chair over as she stood. Her gaze was narrow and piercing, but the Chinese girl sat there, utterly unaffected.

"No, that's not what I'm saying." Meilin gave a short, but exasperated sigh. "Look, Kino… neh, Sakura, where I'm from, things are much different. I wasn't born under the right signs or at the right time, so I wasn't endowed with their gift. My siblings have it. Syaoran has it. His sisters have it. Even his mother has it. But it's that deficiency that sets me apart and makes me unnecessary.

"I suppose," she said softly, "it's why I clung so desperately to Syaoran."

"And why do I need to hear this?" Sakura was more bewildered than anything else. Her tone conveyed neither negative nor positive feelings. If anything, it sought immediate answers for its impatient owner.

"Because your hell only lasted for 6 months," Meilin said softly. Her tone almost dared the listener to respond. Sakura, for one, could not find a way to say the words that jammed in her throat.

"It's not like I asked for it either, you know. I mean, honestly, does anyone ever want to be born into my situation? Then again, I did have friends, I did have people around me who did love me, but it took me a long time to find them. They were there the entire time, but I guess you could say that I never cared to notice." She smiled, disappearing into her memories once more, "It took a silly bird and a sillier boy to pull me out of my stupid downward spiral."

"I don't have a bird, and that stupid boy nearly died for me," Sakura retorted.

"Did you ever think that he would give his life for you not out of stupidity but out of something else completely?" Meilin regarded her from over the top of her tea cup.

"I'd prefer that no one dies for my sake," Sakura replied.

"I know. That… it came out wrong." Meilin set the cup down. Her eyes seemed to be stumbling for some way to say what she wanted. "He loves you," she finished abruptly.

"I know that." The reply came instantly and without hesitation. Sakura looked up and Meilin nodded for her to continue. "There are times, though, that I wish he didn't. If he didn't love me, then he wouldn't be willing to sacrifice himself for my sake."

"You can't stop someone from loving you. If he wants to love you, then what right would you have to deny that of him?"

"Did I ask him to love me?" Sakura stood, palms pressed flat against the table.

Meilin rose at the same time. Her reaction was instantaneous. Rather than saying something, rather than attempting to reason, she let her reactions speak for her. Her good arm reared back as far as it would go. In two steps, she closed the distance between her seat and the infuriated Sakura. Meilin, arm cocked, swung around with all of her might. The resounding slap traveled through the empty apartment. Sakura stood there, half-stunned, while the Chinese girl shook her hand out. As soon as she snapped back into reality, she shifted and placed a hand on glowing red mark that took up the majority of her cheek.

A highly audible scrape of metal on wood accompanied her movement. Both teenagers looked down at the table. The Clow wand laid on the table, in its fully released state, pinned to the table by her other hand. Sakura looked down at the wand and then at Meilin and back to the wand. After a moment, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and the wand dissolved back into the chain and charm that usually hung from her neck.

"Damn it!" Meilin shouted. "Damn you! He doesn't care. He would die for you." Every word was accompanied by an emphatic gesture. "He would give up his world for you, Sakura!"

"Then tell him to stop," she said, her tone level.

"All he wants you to be happy!" Meilin cried out.

"Then tell him that I would happiest if he'd leave me alone."

Meilin shut her eyes. She remained silent for a long time, as if she were trying to compose herself. The only sound in the room was Sakura's harsh breathing. When she finally opened her eyes, Meilin locked Sakura in her gaze.

"Would you be happy?" Meilin said finally. "Would you really be happy if he suddenly disappeared from your life?"

Sakura, evidently, didn't expect the question. She blinked, floundering for an answer, until she found the only thing she could think of. "I… I don't know."

Meilin cracked a slight smile. "You defended his life with your own. Perhaps you already know that answer."

"I didn't want him to die!"

Meilin smiled. "I don't think anyone ever wants anyone else to die," she said softly.

"If they don't return Tomoyo, they'll find out exactly what dying feels like."

"Taking another human life isn't really so simple, though," Meilin said softly. "You know, I killed that man so many times in my mind. I killed him until he wasn't even human. I took him and turned him into some sort of object that I could just extinguish." She walked back around the table and leaned heavily against her chair. "But, if you had put me in the same room as him, bound and helpless, and given me a knife… I wouldn't be able to kill him. Hell, I wouldn't even be able to stab him." A nervous chuckle drifted out of her lips. "It's silly, really… I mean, he told me all these things and warped my mind until I was no longer sure how to think. You can't just tell a girl 'I love you' and expect her to know that you never meant it. I wanted to make him wish he never existed, but were I given the chance to make sure he didn't, I still couldn't do it. It's funny, isn't it? Under the pressure of the moment, I'd crack."

"This is different," Sakura said through clenched teeth.

"It's not." Meilin looked down at her tea cup and then to Sakura. "Take this tea cup." She waved her hand at the object. "It's a plain tea cup. It sits there, holds tea, and does its job. I could break it instantly, erasing its existence in an instant. Why, though? What point would that serve?" She shrugged. Her expression was suddenly less cheerful that Sakura had ever remembered seeing it. "He raped me, but in the end, if I killed him, what would that do? He may not be able to twist another girl around his finger like that, but I would know that I ended someone's life. You can't just take that back. I would feel better for just a single moment before the weight of my act would come crashing onto my shoulders."

"You're sounding like Eriol," Sakura said, but she had at least finally relaxed the muscles in her jaw.

"You know…" Meilin's expression turned even more sorrowful. She continued from where she had left off. "I had a child from that man." She chuckled, and somehow her expression lightened for a moment. "It's not something that I even imagined that I would be glad about or that something that… disgusting… it wouldn't even be able to bring a smile to my face. Now, even when I look back on it, I can't help but to think of what life would be like caring for that poor, small soul."

"I'm not pregnant," Sakura retorted.

"I know you're not. Just bear with me." Sakura folded her arms over her chest and refused to meet Meilin's eyes. "You see," she continued, "I don't regret what happened. Even if I hate that man for what he did to me, it's not like I blame myself for some sort of weakness. I don't blame others for not being able to protect me. It's more of a matter of being at the wrong place at the wrong time." She shrugged. "Perhaps, in an infinite number of universes, things turn out differently, but, in this time and place, I cannot change what happened. Sakura, you can't change what happened."

"I already tried," Sakura said softly. "It didn't work out so well."

Meilin puzzled over the words for a moment. Standing, she collected Sakura's empty cup and dumped the contents of her own in the sink. "Maybe you just need to realize that you aren't as powerless as you think you are. You can't just go out and pluck Tomoyo to safety, but at the same time, you can make sure that, when we do find her, she has the perfect home to come back to."

"That's the problem, though." Sakura flopped over the table, nearly crushing her saucer. "Tomoyo should never have left in the first place. I should have been there to protect her and to make sure she never has to suffer like I did."

Meilin turned to look at her. "Life is full of 'should haves,'" she said softly. "Things like 'I should have fought harder,' or 'I should have done this.' It's not like you can just suddenly go back in time and make a should-have a did. Even if someone did have that power, I think it's cheating. Every time you get to go back in time and fix your mistakes, you'd never learn from them. If you ever go back and change one of your shortcomings, next time, you would just make the same silly mistake." She held up a hand as Sakura rose abruptly from the table. "It's not that Tomoyo's kidnapping was a mistake. It's not like we didn't do what we could at the time to save our own selves, but in the end, it's also not like you could have done anything more. They were intelligent, making sure we have separated before doing anything. They ensured that you would be preoccupied while we were mobbed with suits and thugs. If you could have done something differently, myself and Syaoran might not be one with this world any longer." She smiled. "The doctors say that his condition has been improving, so you did manage some good out of even this horrible situation."

"I put him into the hospital, possibly forever, and you say that's good?"

"No, I say it's good because he didn't die. If you were not there, he would probably be dead."

"You don't know that!" Sakura snapped.

"No," Meilin said with a sad sigh, "I don't know that, but I'd like to think that man wasn't just after you. I think you were just some additional bonus to him." She flicked her hair off her brow. Sakura opened her mouth to speak, but again, Meilin held up a forestalling hand, palm facing away from her body. "That isn't to insult you or attempt to trivialize you. It's just to say that Syaoran is more than capable of thinking for himself. He was more than capable of understanding what could and did happen to him."

"Then why did he do it?"

"You already know the answer to that question." Meilin fixed Sakura in her gaze, making sure that she had the other girl's eyes fixed on her own. "It's because, like you, he saw the only chance he had to save someone he cared about."

Sakura looked at her and then back to the table in quick succession, repeating the motion over and over again. The motion itself seemed panicked, almost distraught. When she looked back up after what seemed like the hundredth repeat of her action, she had tears in her eyes. They were frustrated tears or angry tears, but genuine, honest sorrow. And seconds later, she buried her face in her palms and let the flood burst into the world.

Meilin stopped short of her next words. This moment was one of those few places where words would only hurt the situation. That Sakura buried down so deep, beneath so many layers of protection to prevent the outside world from damaging her, was finally – at least – peeking out onto the world. Meilin was not one to prevent that from happening. It took the combined effort of four very caring females and the mother of the boy she loved so much to jerk her forcibly out of her self-imposed solitude. She smiled, thinking back on the memory, before walking up behind the sobbing girl.

"Shh," she said softly, wrapped her arms around Sakura's shoulder.

Sakura honked loudly, cutting the line of sobs for a moment before breaking out into a peal of laughter. Confused, with no direction as to what to do or where to go, she was simply a conduit of everything that had previously befallen her. Sakura couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry or lash out or just scream. Certainly, her mind recognized that attempting to perform so many actions at once would only result in a terribly embarrassing outcome. At the same time, she could figure out what to do or feel. For the first time in so many months, she wasn't trying to figure out how to rearrange her life. She just allowed herself to cry.

Meilin's presence behind her has left some time ago. The Chinese girl handed her a box of tissues when her sobs finally slowed and Sakura raised her head from her hands. Her eyes were bloodshot and her entire face was a little puffy. Sakura accepted them gladly.

"Sakura, you can't keep living these 'what if's' that you keep seeing," Meilin said softly. "Maybe you'll let something grand pass you by because you look to a probable instead of reality. Maybe you won't." She was currently standing just before the girl, much of her weight placed on the table. "Just don't forget that we'll support you, no matter how many times you try to shove us away from you." She grinned, rather stupidly. "I guess you could consider us a bunch of masochists."

Sakura snorted and reached for another tissue. "I'd say you just blame it all on stupidity, actually. Actually, perhaps just plain stubbornness works a lot better." She blew her nose loudly, seemingly interrupting her train of thought, as she halted her speech.

"I'd like to think it's because we care," Meilin replied. "And I'd like to know that you really do appreciate it rather than just assuming it."

"Just don't make an ass out of yourself in the process." Her eyes were still damp. Sakura sniffled, but her smile returned. She even allowed a little laugh to slip out. Meilin followed suit with a grin. Sakura looked at the clock for a moment and sighed. "Where does it all go?"

"Into another dimension, probably," Meilin offered. "I think it just slips away unnoticed most of the time."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "It's funny how conversations can do that to you, no?"

"Make you laugh and cry and want to beat up the others involved all in the same passing moments?" Meilin smiled and extended a hand to Sakura. "If I remember correctly, you have patrols to do."

"You've been talking to Eriol?" Sakura asked.

"I have to keep up with everyone somehow." Meilin lifted the arm she still wore in a sling, wincing in the process. "If that method is best performed by doing duties behind the scenes, then so be it." She shrugged. "I don't mind being some sort of coordinator. It allows me to make sure everyone is still on the same base."

"Or at least so far as you can manage that," Sakura said with a wistful little smile. "I'll let you know how the patrol goes tonight. I think Ruby and Kero said they would be on duty, so I may have my hands full." She smiled. "It's always nice to interfere in business that isn't my own, especially when it harms the Houses."

Meilin couldn't help but notice the briefest of shudders that traversed her friend's spine. Rather than saying something, she simply chose to overlook it. Giving Sakura a little wave, she walked the other girl to the door.

"Be careful," she said softly.

"I will be."

And then the door closed between them.

Meilin plopped down on a sofa in the empty apartment and sighed. Little by little, she knew things would return to normalcy. Yes, everyone had changed. Events had forced people to People had grown up and grown older, but beneath all the wrappings of society they were still the same person. Even though every one of them had been forced into a situation that no person could ever describe as normal, they would prevail.

Meilin truly believe this, but she prayed that her beliefs would not become empty dreams.

_Sincerely yours…_

Yes, another talky preachy chapter that is full of words and not full of Syaoran. I mean no offense to you folks who read this, but I do actually have a plan, so please don't ask me to suddenly write more of someone into the story. I don't just write this willy-nilly, throwing my characters about in a tumbling plot.

Yes, this story is listed as a Sakura/Syaoran romance, and that's because, _le gasp_, it is! It's not your run-of-the-mill romance, though. It's real. It's something that I wrote because I believe in these characters. I love the series, and as much as people wonder how loving Card Captor Sakura births a fiction like this, it's because I believe the characters have such depth that I can twist them into situations like I have put here on paper.

I'm sorry to drag the soapbox out here, but I guess I just feel like preaching to an empty choir, as not too many people actually bother to read these silly (and somewhat lengthy) fore- and after- words. I love my readers and I love my writing, but at the same time, I feel like you are expecting something from this story that I may never deliver, even after the many years I've dragged this story on.

_Ciuline Ihmenjo_


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